Unexpected Lives
by gunman
Summary: Shinji gets Maya pregnant in a very unusual way. Not a Lemon. Chapter's 8 and 9 uploaded. Make sure you read both of them instead of skipping to the end.
1. Chapter 1

_**UNEXPECTED LIVES**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I don't own EVA, the characters, or the series.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Why, Shinji?" the sour looking commander asked. "Why have you come back?"

"Because...because I'm the pilot of Unit 01!" the young boy shouted.

_That was how it started. A single, simple phrase that started me down a path to the most unusual relationship in the history of...well, pretty much the world. _

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Asuka and Rei had been defeated by the Angel of Might and after the unfortunate scrap with the out of control 13th Angel/Eva 03, Shinji had refused to pilot again.

But after seeing his friends in trouble, and losing, he reconsidered and went back to pilot his Unit 01 against the advancing enemy.

The Angel exploded into the NERV command center, face-to-face with it's enemies, the technicians of NERV.

"Oh, god!" Maya Ibuki gasped as the Angel loomed over them, moving ever closer to the group.

Shigure Aoba just froze.

Motoko Hyuga felt his glasses fogging up.

Ritsuko Akagi was lucky she didn't have anything to drink in the last hour.

And Misato Katsuragi actually gained a new perspective at what Shinji and the others went through facing a live Angel face-to-face.

The Angel opened its mouth, but before it could do anything, the side wall exploded open as the purple horned head of Evangelion Unit 01 entered the room.

"SHINJI!" Misato shouted in shock as the Eva grabbed the Angel and yanked hard, pulling it back towards the Eva cages with him.

"That was Shinji, wasn't it?" Maya asked as the Eva/Angel battle sent shockwaves through all of the underground base.

"Has to be. Nothing else could get that Eva moving." Misato finally breathed.

"DAMN YOU!" Shinji shouted as he grappled with the invading monster, throwing it into the wall of the Eva cages as Gendo just watched with unflinching eyes and face.

The roar of the Eva was the last thing that Gendo heard as the Angel suddenly forced Unit 01 back against the catwalk that Gendo was standing on, leaving a fierce impression with him in it.

Shinji knew none of this as he shifted his controls forward and pushed the Angel back into Central Dogma. He kept pushing, trying to force the Angel outside to fight him without getting Misato and the others hurt. He was halfway outside the hole the Angel had made, when the Angel retaliated and head butted the purple Eva back into the command deck.

Unit 01 went flying backwards and crashed into the bridge. The impact was forceful enough to send the group tumbling back to the ground.

However, in the case of Maya Ibuki, the young computer tech went tumbling forward, right off the bridge, and landing square on Unit 01's left shoulder.

"AAAHHH!" she screamed as she landed on it.

The scream was enough for Shinji to notice.

"What? Lieutenant Ibuki?"

The Angel stepped back into Central Dogma and growled.

Shinji reacted, drawing his Progressive Knife from his right shoulder pylon and throwing it at the Angel's face.

The blade slammed into the Angel's forehead, causing it to stumble back.

Unfortunately, it's core was nowhere near it's head.

It's left paper arm lashed out and wrapped around Unit 01's outstretched right arm, pulling it up from the bridge and easing it to the large hole.

Fortunately, Shinji hadn't forgot about Maya.

He pressed the emergency release button inside his entry plug and popped it open.

Granted that this is a very dangerous thing to do in the middle of a battle, just like with the 4th Angel, but unlike that time, Shinji acted on his own.

Since he couldn't grab Maya and put her down safely, he popped the entry plug and shouted, "Maya, get in now!"

The frightened lieutenant somehow found the strength to move her muscles and practically leaped into the white entry plug.

Her first thought, however, was on the LCL.

_Oh, god! It smells like blood_! She thought as the door to the plug closed behind her. _Is this what Shinji and the others have to endure every time they pilot? And do synch tests? It's everywhere! How do they stand the smell? _

However, her companion's voice made her snap back to reality.

"Lt. Ibuki, are you alright?"

"Uh..yeah, Shinji. I--I'm fine." she said, suddenly feeling as if she was going to throw up.

"Just breath normally. You'll get used to it." he said as he went back to piloting.

Maya settled behind Shinji as the display activated and showed the Angel pulling the Prog Knife out of it's forehead with it's other arm before lashing it to wrap around Shinji's neck.

It yanked hard and tossed Shinji across the Geofront, landing him next to the lake.

"Argh!" Shinji groaned as he gripped the controls tighter.

"Ouch!" Maya groaned. Then something hit her. _I felt that? I actually felt that_.

Shinji moved the controls again and got to his feet. The Angel yanked again and threw him and his passenger into the pyramid of the Geofront.

It recoiled it's arms and then attacked once again, sending them to slice at Unit 01's arms.

Shinji threw out his hand to stop the razor like paper arms, the Angel's weapon slicing through the Eva's armor and severing it.

"ARGH!" Shinji and Maya shouted, both feeling the pain for Unit 01's arm being cut off.

Maya was curled up in a ball behind Shinji, holding her arm in pain. Shinji, however, was used to such pain and shrugged it off. Suddenly, the systems went dead. The cockpit went black, but the Eva was still moving.

Shinji vaguely remembered the last time this had happened.

Berserker.

A blood-curdling roar sounded throughout the Geofront as Eva grabbed the Angel's paper-like arms with his other hand, yanked hard on it, pulling the Angel flush against him. It grabbed as much of the Angel's offending arm as it could and pulled hard as it placed his foot against the Angel's chest and pushed off with it. The Angel went flying, its arm staying with Unit 01.

Eva placed the Angel's arm where it's severed one was. Immediately the paper arms took shape, warping and twisting until it had effectively become it's new arm.

Eva roared again as it leaped from its sitting position and jumped on the Angel. It forced the enemy down and started beating it with it's fists. When it was sure the Angel was stunned, the Eva opened it's jaw and dove into the creature.

Those who were watching the Eva 'feed' on the Angel lost their lunch. Only Misato and Ritsuko were able to hold their stomachs.

"What's going on, Ritz?" Misato asked.

"Unit 01! It's...it's eating the Angel's S2 Engine! It's integrating it into it's body." the blond scientist explained as she checked her computer laptop again. "No...NO!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"The synch rate is at 400"

"Is that good or bad? Shinji's never gone that high before!"

"I don't think Shinji's in command of Eva anymore."

"You mean...berserker?"

"I'm afraid so."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The events that followed were little more than clean up, after Unit 01 lapsed back into normal mode. The only problem was...Shinji and Maya were gone.

"What do you mean they're gone?" Misato nearly screamed.

"Just what I said. Unit 01 achieved 400 synch ratio when it at the Angel's S2 Engine. As a result, both Shinji and Maya have...well let me show you." Ritsuko said as she punched up the internal camera for Unit 01's entry plug.

What Misato saw frightened her. Shinji and Maya were gone, but his plug suit and her uniform were still there, floating in the LCL.

"Where are they?" Misato asked.

"If I'm right, and I'm sure I am...they're still in the entry plug. The high synch ratio has somehow transformed them both into LCL, that's why we can't see them."

"They've Become LCL?" she asked incredulously.

"Unfortunately."

"Can you turn them back?"

Ritsuko paused, lowering her head as she became deep in thought. She lifted her head and looked at Misato.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Yes. Maybe."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

It had been thirty days since Shinji and Maya had been absorbed into Unit 01. NERV had done everything it could to try and re-materialize the pair.

It had been a tense month. Their best pilot was trapped inside his own machine with one of their top computer techs. If an Angel were to attack now, their chance of success in defeating it was slim. Asuka's performances had been less than inspiring, and Rei wasn't much better.

Not like Shinji.

Ritsuko and her team had been working double almost triple shifts trying to get back the pair.

Their final attempt had failed, and all they got was Shinji's blue and white plugsuit and Maya's uniform. While Ritsuko was upset, Misato was furious.

"WHAT GOOD IS ALL YOUR SCIENCE IF YOU CAN'T GIVE ME BACK MY FAMILY!" she screamed as she turned back to Eva-01. "GIVE ME BACK MY SHINJI!"

She started crying into the plugsuit as Eva suddenly started gurgling. A sound that almost resembled an upset stomach emanated from the biomechanical weapon, as behind her, two bodies were almost literally flushed out.

Misato turned around to see a buck-naked Shinji Ikari and Maya Ibuki lying on the cold walkway next to her. Everyone, from the additional computer techs to Gendo Ikari himself was shocked. They were both naked and unconscious, and practically wrapped in each others arms. Their lower regions were not touching, but their arms and legs were intertwined.

Misato's sadness melted away as she saw that Shinji was returned, and replaced with jealously at the nearly intimate embrace the young female tech had the pilot in.

"Stop that!" Misato shouted, pulling the naked Shinji away from Maya as she tossed the female techs LCL soaked uniform over her exposed parts.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Authors Notes:

This is my second Shinji/Maya story, which will definitely have a second chapter later in the future.

Also, if you couldn't tell from the summery, Shinji will get Maya pregnant in an unusual way. Care to guess HOW that's going to happen?

Furthermore, I'm sorry if this seems a little rushed. I was up all night and I'm trying to get this written before I pass out.

Read and Review.

Merry Christmas.

And now...

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

OMAKE!

"SIR! Situation is critical!" Maya Ibuki shouted. "Unit 00 has lost both arms and it's right leg is damaged! Unit 02 has sever head trauma and the pilot is unconscious! Unit 01 is still standing but it's got half it's stomach blown out! And the Angel is still advancing!"

Gendo Ikari looked like he always did. Grim.

"We need another pilot." he said.

"But Toji is still in the hospital. He's worse than Rei was when she got injured. He can't pilot!" Misato Katsuragi shouted.

"Unit 03 is waiting in the launch bay. It's been upgraded and shielded against any possible Angel influence. We just need a pilot." Ritsuko Akagi said.

Just then, the doors to the command center opened up. Standing in the doorway, was their savior. Dressed in a black and white plugsuit, he stood ready to do his job. The bridge crew looked on in awe as they noticed the determined glint in his eyes.

"Alright then," Misato said to the pilot. "Unit 03's waiting for you. Shinji needs help. Get going."

The pilot nodded.

"Good luck, Pen-Pen."

"WARK!" the warm water fowl cried out as he waddled off to the black EVA to rescue his food-giver.


	2. Chapter 2

_**UNEXPECTED LIVES 2**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I do not own the Eva series or the characters

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Since Eva 01's battle with the Angel in the cages, Gendo had been reduced to little more than a living imitation of Stephen Hawking, a quadriplegic stuck in a wheelchair.

All his bones broken from his neck down, his left ear gone, a patch over his right eye to conceal the fact it was gone, massive internal injuries...you get the idea, right? His brain still worked, and he could speak, but now he slurred his 'S's.

He had been present when Shinji and Maya had been 'expelled' from Eva 01, and he had expected much. But he hadn't been expecting THIS.

"Stop That!" Misato shouted as she pulled the naked Shinji away from Maya, tossing the tech her clothes.

_This is...unexpected._ He grimaced. _AND PAINFUL!_

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

It had been two weeks since Shinji and Maya had been returned. Since then the rumor mill had been going wild with stories of what the pair had been doing inside the Eva for an entire month.

The thing was, they didn't remember anything of what had happened since the Angel battle. But ever since they had heard the rumors they had been unable to really look at each other whenever they passed in the halls.

However, that ended one day when the pair suddenly passed in Southwest corridor.

Shinji had just finished up a synch test for Dr Akagi. He had been released from the hospital three days ago and was right back into work. Like always, he hadn't argued. He hadn't seen his father in all that time, but he knew he was a busy man.

Being back hadn't been a problem, except for the rumors that were flying about him and Maya and how they had been found when they got out of Eva. When he had first heard them, he had blushed furiously, noticing that Misato was both teasing him as well as looking a bit jealous. He really hadn't noticed it too much, wondering what had been going on after finding out he and Maya had been in Eva for a whole month.

Shinji just finished showering and dressing and was on his way to find Misato to go home, when he passed Maya Ibuki in the hallways.

Like him, Maya had been the subject of many sordid rumors, mostly of her taking advantage of the young pilot while inside of Unit 01. Difficult to believe really since the monitors had shown that both he and Maya were not actually whole during their month long incarceration.

How could someone take advantage of someone else if they were not corporeal to do so?

Actually, she was wondering how someone could become a liquid from flesh and then change back. It seemed like a bad science fiction plot or something. Dr Akagi herself had given her a medical examination, and she trusted her boss without question that she was a hundred percent. She had recovered quicker than Shinji and was right back to work.

_Never do get any real vacation time_. She thought to herself.

Still, that left her with a strange feeling in her stomach that something wasn't right. That something was in fact...different than before.

Maya was going over some notes on her clipboard when she noticed Shinji walking towards her down the hallway. She knew she wasn't a pervert or a pedophile , and even if the boy was cute she'd never take advantage of him like the rumors suggested. To that effect she hadn't even been able to look at him whenever she saw him.

Now was no different.

Time seemed to slow as the pair passed by each other, not looking at the other as went. They were not ten feet apart when Maya suddenly froze in place, an unusual pain suddenly taking over her. She coughed and dropped to her knees, gagging as she suddenly vomited onto the floor.

Shinji stopped the second he heard Maya coughing up, turning around to see her on her knees and leaning against the wall.

"Maya-san!" he shouted as he raced to her side. "Are you, alright?"

Maya tried to regain her composure, but she felt weak. She'd never felt that way before.

"Shinji?" she asked weakly.

"We have to get you to Dr Akagi." he said as he took her arm and threw it over his shoulder as he helped her to her feet.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Two hours of medical examinations later...

"How are you feeling now, Maya?" Ritsuko asked as she jotted down some notes on her clipboard.

"Better, sempai." the young tech asked as she pulled her jacket over her shoulders. "Just hungry."

"Hungry? Any...craving in particular?" the blond asked.

Her eyes fell to the floor, as if in thought.

"Cabbage." she suddenly said.

"Cabbage?"

"And fruit, and pork ramen, and chocolate." she paused. "I've never wanted chocolate before."

Ritsuko's mind was working furiously upon hearing this. The blood and urine samples she had taken from Maya were still being processed. The physical examination indicated that something was not quite right, though Maya was in good health. However, after hearing about her cravings, Ritsuko thought that another test was needed.

"Maya, will you call Shinji in here, please?"

"Yes, sempai." she said as she got off the examination table.

Outside Dr Akagi's office Maya found Shinji sitting in a chair. Just waiting.

_He couldn't be that concerned for me, could he?_ She wondered.

"Maya-san, are you alright?"

"Better now. Uh, Dr Akagi wants you to talk to you." she said with a smile.

Shinji looked confused, but nodded as Maya moved to the side to allow Shinji entrance to the office. She followed him inside, unsure what her boss could want from Shinji.

"You wanted to see me Dr Akagi?" he asked.

"Yes, Shinji. I need to take a blood sample."

Both Shinji and Maya looked a little confused.

"Is something wrong?" Shinji asked as he sat on the examination table.

"It's possible that Maya's condition is related to what happened to both of you being trapped inside the Eva for a whole month." Ritsuko explained.

That statement didn't sit well with Shinji. Being of a depressed mind it didn't make him feel any better at the possibility that he could be responsible for Maya being sick. Though he wondered how their month in the Eva could have been connected to it.

_What did happen in Eva? Misato said we were in there for a whole month. I don't...I don't remember anything. What did happen. Why can't I remember?_

Ritsuko took the blood sample with little trouble and placed the vial next to the analyzer.

"Alright, both of you can go. I should have the tests done by tomorrow." the blond said.

"So quickly?" the younger woman asked.

"I love a good challenge, Maya." Ritsuko smiled. _Which explains why I was banging Gendo_. She thought glumly.

Though now that was far harder since his pelvis had been crushed by the Eva. And with Gendo out of action, she needed something to distract her.

The pair exited the office.

"So, are you alright, Maya-san?" Shinji asked.

Maya smiled at the boy. It was nice that someone was concerned for her. "I'm fine now. But I'm really hungry."

"I could make you something, if you wanted." he offered almost immediately.

Being Shinji, he felt an odd desire to make it up to her. Even if he didn't know what it was that he did.

"Uh, I wouldn't want to impose." she said.

"It's not a problem. I want to." he replied.

Maya pondered that for a minute. On the one hand, the rumors were flying about her and Shinji doing something illicit when they had been released from the Eva. She had virtually no memory of what had happened during that time. On the other hand, Shinji was rather considerate when it came to other people, putting them before himself.

_I think I can ignore the rumors for one night_. "Alright, Shinji."

"Great. So, what do you want for dinner?"

"Cabbage, fruit salad, pork ramen, and chocolate." she said automatically, which surprised her. "Uh, am I asking too much?"

"No, no, no. You just don't look like you could eat that much." he flushed. "Sorry, that was rude."

"Don't be. It's actually a compliment in a way." she smiled.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Maya drove them to the store where Shinji bought the groceries and then to Shinji's apartment. The Third Child cooked everything to perfection and in less than an hour he had prepared all that Maya had requested.

"Mmm! This is delicious Shinji!" Maya moaned happily as she practically devoured the banquet.

"I'm glad you like it." Shinji smiled.

Misato and Asuka suddenly arrived at the apartment.

"Shinji-kun! We're home!" Misato shouted from the door.

"We're in here, Misato." he called back.

"We?" Asuka asked in confusion.

The pair walked into the kitchen where Maya Ibuki was continuing to devour her meal.

"Maya? What are you doing here?" the purple-haired major asked.

"I invited her over after Dr Akagi finished with our tests." Shinji said.

"Tests? What tests?" Misato asked.

Shinji then explained what had happened at NERV and that Dr Akagi would have the results by tomorrow.

"And she just felt hungry?" Asuka asked as she dug into the food Shinji made for her, for fear of her wrath as well.

"Yeah. So I offered to make her something."

"I see." Asuka grinned widely at them. "Feeling a little guilty, are we?"

"Guilty?"

"For taking advantage of you." she looked at Maya for incentive.

Shinji flushed and Maya just gasped. "Took advantage of me? Shinji didn't do that."

"How do you know? Maybe you took advantage of him." she smirked.

"Maya wouldn't do that!" Shinji shouted.

"Ohhh, rather protective of your girlfriend, aren't you baka-boy." the redhead sneered.

"Asuka..." Misato said, trying to calm her down.

"At least she doesn't tease me!" Shinji nearly shouted.

"Shinji..." Misato said, trying to intervene.

"Oh, now you grow a spine!" Asuka shouted.

"Is that all you care about?"

"Bite me, baka!"

"You'd probably taste terrible!" Maya said.

"Oh, so the mousy tech talks!"

"Don't Talk About Her Like That!" Shinji and Maya said in unison.

_Talk about **her**?_ Misato thought, wondering why Maya was talking about herself like that.

"Ohhh, getting defensive are we?" the redhead asked.

"Be Quiet Asuka, You Don't Know A Thing About Us!" they shouted again in unison.

That actually made her shut up. _Alright, this is getting creepy_.

"Uh, Shinji, maybe I should go." Maya said as she stood up from the table.

"I'll walk you out." Shinji said, the pair glaring at Asuka.

"Nice one, Asuka." Misato said as she grabbed another beer.

"What?"

(In the hallway...)

"Maya, I just want to say I'm sorry..."

"About Asuka. It's alright, Shinji." Maya said as she opened the door to go.

"No, it wasn't. She's always been..."

"A bit hard to deal with." she finished for him. "I know, my cousin Akira used to..."

"Take your music CD's without asking." he said.

The pair froze, just staring at each other.

"How did you..." Maya asked.

"I don't know. I just...knew." Shinji answered.

Somehow Maya knew he was telling the truth.

"Alright. I'd better be going. See ya, Shinji-kun. And thanks again for dinner." she smiled.

Shinji just smiled as she left. But in the back of his mind, he wondered how he had known that about Maya's cousin. His mind went into overdrive.

_She likes computers and romance novels, she was born on July 11th, 1991, her blood type is A, she attended Tokyo-2 University at a young age, and doesn't call her parents more than one a month._

His eyes widened at the realization of suddenly knowing that. He wasn't sure how or why, he just knew it.

Meanwhile, Maya was going through a similar situation.

"Playing his cello makes him happy, he was born on June 6th, 2001, his blood type is A, (same as me, wow), his father abandoned him shortly after he saw his mother die, and cares more for other people because he doesn't value his own life." Maya said softly to herself. _How did I know all that? I've never read his file, I've never seen a psych profile. But it's like I've known it all my life. _

Maya kept pondering this all the way back to her apartment.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Author's Notes:

Hope everyone enjoyed chapter 2. I'm sorry if some were expecting an explanation for this chapter but I got a little side-tracked as the writing kept getting longer and longer than I expected. I promise one in the next chapter.

Also, some of you might be wondering why Asuka isn't a mentally-depressed angst-ridden girl after being beaten yet again by the Angels and Shinji coming to save the day. I decided to play that angle up less in this story. She's still a bitch, but not as depressed and angry at Shinji about the whole thing.

Also, I'd like to thank all those reviews I got for the last chapter. It wasn't until I read them that I realized that I put Gendo in at the end, despite that I crushed him with an Eva. Hopefully the insert of him at the beginning was good enough for you.

And as always, please Read and Review.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

OMAKE 2!

"But Misato!" the whiny boy cried as he was pushed towards the pool in his swimsuit.

"I'm sorry Shinji, this is for your own good." Misato smiled as she continued to shove him.

"But...but...but I can't swim!" he tried to stop her pushing him.

"That's why you're going to take lessons, starting today."

"But this is impossible! The instructor you want me to learn from...I can't understand him!"

"It's not a big deal, Shinji. You'll get used to it. Besides, no one swims better than he does."

"But it's just ridiculous! I mean...HIM!"

"Oh, stop complaining. Here he comes now."

The instructor walked up, whistle around his neck, brand new swim-trunks on. He nodded to Shinji.

"Here." Misato said as she handed Shinji the instructors fee to give to him.

"Right." he said as he took the payment and handed it to his instructor.

The instructor took the payment and pointed to the pool.

"So, what do I do after I get in the water, Pen-Pen?"

"WARK!" the warm-water penguin shouted, flapping his flippers, dropping the sardine can he had been given.

"Oh, come on, Pen-Pen, the shallow end would be safer." Misato commented.

"WARK, WARK!"

"He's a beginner!"

"WARK, WARK, WARK!"

"No, I'm not stepping on your authority..."

"WARK, WARK!"

"And I'm not being a mother hen, you flightless fowl!"

"WAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRK!" he flapped his flippers wildly.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK YOU LITTLE SNOT-BEAKED PUFFIN!" she snapped, getting in his face.

The pair got into an argument as Shinji tried to slowly inch away from the pool, and them.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


	3. Chapter 3

**UNEXPECTED LIVES 3**

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I do not own Eva or it's characters.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Ritsuko had called everyone to her office. The group has consisted of Shinji, Maya, Misato and Asuka, who had insisted on coming. When they arrived, both Shinji and Maya noticed that Ritsuko hadn't changed her clothes, her hair was a bit mussed and she had bags under her eyes.

"Ritsuko are you okay? You look like you've been up all night." Misato commented.

"I'm fine, Misato." the blond said as she took another swig of her coffee, tossing and adding it to the small pile in the corner. "And I have. Everyone come in, what I have to tell you isn't going to be quick."

The quartet entered the room, closed the door, and huddled themselves around her computer.

"So, what's wrong, sempai?" Maya asked. "Your call sounded urgent."

"It is." she said as she stretched a little to work the kinks out of her back, legs, arms, and neck. "As some of you know, I gave Maya a medical exam yesterday after she suddenly felt strangely ill. I had to have the hospital confirm my results."

"And?" Asuka asked.

"She's pregnant."

Eyes bugged out, jaws dropped. It was so quiet you could have dropped a cookie crumb on a carpet and heard it.

"And to make things more interesting, I took a blood sample from Shinji, on a hunch, which reveals that he's the father." Ritsuko added.

Eyes and jaws were stock still, but this time, Shinji had fallen to the ground, hard.

"I'm pregnant?" Maya asked in shock.

"And I'm the father?" Shinji asked, equally shocked as he tried to stand.

"I knew it! You two were doing it in the Eva the whole month!" Asuka shouted.

"I doubt it's possible she had sex with Shinji." Ritsuko stated.

"Why not?" Misato finally managed to get her voice box working.

"Because she's still a virgin!" she said calmly, but with emphasis on 'virgin'.

Everyone's jaw, including Maya's, dropped.

"WHAT?" they all chorused.

"The medical examination report indicated that Maya hasn't had any physical contact of that sort."

"But...she's pregnant." Misato said, still shocked.

"Yes."

"And Shinji's the father?" Asuka asked, also shocked.

"Yes."

"Does this make any sense to anyone?" Shinji asked.

"NO!" Misato/Asuka/Maya shouted.

"As near as I can figure, this has something to do with your time spent inside Unit 01, when you were both turned into LCL." Ritsuko said as she brought up the special illustrations she had made.

"But how is that possible?" Maya asked, clearly not seeing where this was going.

"I've been going over the data, and this is the scenario as best I can determine."

She brought up a computer model on her computer. It was a rather abstract representation of two people of indeterminate sex. They were colored blue and surrounded by a large greenish circle.

"Here's my theory." Ritsuko said as she pressed a button on the remote and moved to the next screen. It showed the two human figures change color to a slightly greenish/blue color and start to slowly expand, bit by bit. As if they were slowly coming apart. "When both Shinji and Maya were absorbed into Unit 01, they were transformed into LCL. As a result, their basic DNA remained fairly separate from the Eva."

"But you still couldn't isolate it enough to bring them back for an entire month." Misato said.

"Yes. The reason for that was because the difference between human DNA and LCL had become so close in parallel that we couldn't have separated it before. However," she said as the screen changed to show the greenish/blue pixels from each figure start to overlap slightly. "Given that the both of them were in the LCL for an entire month, their 'less-contained' DNA, shall we say, started to intermingle." she brought up another screen which showed the two abstract figures again, with a time frame in the corner that indicated 'Day 30', meaning the end of the month they had been in Eva. This time the image showed both figures as different colors, and reconstituting. The figure on the right was now solid blue, the figure on the left was red.

This was done in order to clearly identify what happened next.

What caught everyone's attention was the fact that some of the red was reemerging with the blue and some of the blue was reemerging with the red.

"So...what your saying is that...when Shinji and Maya changed back from LCL, some of their DNA got...merged...with the other..." Asuka started to say.

"What I believe she's trying to say is, that Maya got some of Shinji's DNA when they were brought back, and as a result...she's pregnant with his kid." Misato finished for her.

"That's the dumbed down version, but yes. When the pair started to reconstruct their physical forms, the DNA that was closest to the larger concentration of DNA, was pulled towards it, regardless of whether or not they belonged to the right person."

"But does that also mean that Shinji got some of Maya's?" Misato asked.

"Yes."

"So...is he pregnant too?" Asuka asked offhandedly.

Shinji lost his footing and fell down on his rear end again.

"Not exactly. Because a woman's genetic makeup is slightly different than that of a man's, any, shall we say, foreign DNA that is integrated into her body, will be considered a candidate for impregnation and result in the woman being pregnant."

"You can't prove that!" Asuka shouted, obviously irritated at what sounded like a bad sci-fi plotline.

"I think the proof is in the pudding, so to speak." Ritsuko said.

Misato looked at Maya and Shinji. She looked closely and then noticed something she hadn't before. She moved closer to them and stared both of them in the eyes.

"Oh...my...god." the purple-haired woman cried.

"What?" Shinji asked, worried now that she was also panicked.

"Shinji...have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"Huh? What does that mean?" the boy asked.

"Maya...you too."

"Ma'am, what?" the tech asked.

"Guy's, I think you'd better look in the mirror, particularly at your eyes."

The pair got up and looked in the mirror together that was on the other end of Ritsuko's office. Sure enough, their eye colors had changed just as Misato said.

Shinji's right eye was now brown and his left one still blue, while Maya's right eye was now blue and her left one still brown.

The pair kept at their image, then at each other, and then back to their image again.

"So...the only thing that happened to Shinji was he got his eye color changed?" Asuka asked.

"Well, I don't think he's pregnant, but we should be sure." Ritsuko said as she took out a syringe to draw blood from him, again.

"This is ridiculous!" Asuka groaned as the blond poked Shinji's arm once more.

"Welcome to NERV." Misato replied as she placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder.

The analysis took nearly twenty minutes, as Ritsuko knew what had to be done and knew precisely what to look for this time.

"Well, the good news is that Shinji isn't pregnant. But Maya is." she said.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god." Maya paced around the room, trying to figure out what to do next.

"Maya, what's wrong?" Shinji asked.

"What's wrong? What's Wrong! I'm pregnant, Shinji! Pregnant with Your Child! What the hell am I going to do?"

"We'll figure something out."

"What? What will we figure out, Shinji? The rumors are going to fly over this. It's bad enough that people are already talking about us when we got out of Eva, but when this gets out, people will think I seduced you or something. They'll brand me a pedophile or a rapist! Oh, god!" she cried as she suddenly ran out of the room, nearly knocking over the sub-commander in the process.

"What the..Lt. Ibuki?" the aged man said in surprise as the young tech ran past her.

"Maya, wait up!" Shinji shouted as he burned rubber trying to catch up, and nearly ran over the 60+ year old man. "Sorry, sir!"

Kouzou Fuyutsuki watched the boy run off and then turned his head to Dr Akagi's office where he saw the three women just sitting and staring at the door.

"Do I want to know, or should I not ask?" he questioned the women.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Shinji eventually found Maya in the garden in the Geofront. He was amazed that a woman who spent a considerable amount of time behind a computer work station could run so fast. He moved towards Maya and took her hand.

"Maya, look at me."

She raised her head to look at him, tears in her eyes as she had been crying rather hard.

"We'll work this out. Together. Alright?" he said reassuringly.

Maya at this point was conflicted and confused, but also in awe of what Shinji was now telling her.

"Together?"

"Yes, Maya-chan. Together. If you want." he said, never letting go of her hands.

Inside she smiled at the boys maturity and compassion. He was willing to help her through this, and that was hard to believe since he had just found out what the situation was.

"But what are you going to do, Shinji? This really is my problem, not yours." she said.

"Well, maybe I should move in with you." he suggested.

"Move in? With me?"

"To help take care of you and the baby."

She said nothing, her eyes widening as though she didn't really understand.

"Maya, this is my problem too. It's my child remember? I don't know what happened inside the Eva for that month, but I know you wouldn't have taken advantage of me. I know you wouldn't rape me, so stop worrying about that. I believe Dr Akagi's theory and I can't argue with her data, so I'm not upset at you. Especially since this is probably my fault." he said, looking down as his grip on her hands started to loosen.

"Yours?" she asked, confused.

"Well, if I'd been a better pilot, if I hadn't quit when I did I would have been there right from the start of the battle with the Angel. It probably wouldn't have gotten into the Geofront, where you were and you wouldn't have gotten into the Eva and...all this would never have happened."

Maya looked back at Shinji with some fear. She knew there might be some truth to that, but she would have been totally distraught as well if it had been her inside the Eva that nearly ripped her friend apart. That was why Shinji had left in the first place, only to come back when Asuka and Rei were taking a serious beating by the 14th.

"You know I don't blame you for that Shinji-kun." Maya smiled. "I'm not ashamed of this," she said, gently touching her stomach. "I'm actually..."

"Glad that it's my child?" he finished her sentence.

"Yes." she said, amazed that he knew what she was going to say again. "How did you..."

"I just knew." he said. "Maybe it's a side effect of what happened to us inside Eva. Maybe when our DNA got traded we also..."

"Got some brain cells traded as well which makes us know what the other person is going to say?" she finished for him.

"I can't think of anything else. Can you?" he asked with a smile, getting only a small shake of her head. "Maya, I don't know if that's what actually happened, or what. But somehow you and I are connected. And not just by this baby."

"I know. I was wondering about that when I left your apartment yesterday." she smiled. Then a thought struck her. "Wait. What did you mean 'If you want'?" she asked in regards to his nearly-forgotten statement.

Shinji looked at her a little guiltily. "Before, I wasn't sure if you wanted to have this baby after finding out how you got it or that it came from me. I wasn't sure then, but I am now. You want to have this child, don't you, Maya-chan?"

The young woman smiled warmly at the boy. "Yes, Shinji-kun. I want to have this child. I want to have...your child."

"Ours." he corrected her, tightening his hands around hers.

"Ours." she repeated. "It's just a lot to take in all at once, you know. Finding out that I'm pregnant, that you're the father, all because of some strange Eva/LCL accident neither of us truly understand. But I'm sure of it, Shinji-kun. I know you better than I've ever known you before. You know what I'm going to say before I can finish. You know my likes and dislikes."

"Romance novels and bloodshed." he respectively answered her query.

"I know your birth date without reading your file." she said.

"We have the same blood-type." he said.

"You saw your mother die when you were four."

"You haven't called your parents this month."

They stopped and just looked into each others eyes. Maya suddenly blushed.

"Shinji!"

"It's true. You really are very pretty." he said blushing fiercely as well.

Maya leaned forward and kissed Shinji lightly on the lips. The boy pilot reciprocated her touch with his own, gently caressing her cheek as he did.

"You're a good, kind, brave, selfless person Shinji-kun. That's why I'm proud to have this baby." Maya whispered as she pulled the boy into a warm embrace.

"You are too, Maya-chan. And smarter than I'll ever be." Shinji replied as he snuggled into her arms, wrapping his own around her body.

"It will be an amazing child. Your soul, my brains..."

"You're looks." he added.

"Thank you." she said with a smile. "So, my apartment is a single. But it should be big enough for two people."

"I'd love to, Maya-chan."

The pair stayed in each others arms for a while, unconcerned with trivial things like school, or work, or any rumors that would follow them after word of this got out.

They were happy and, at a time like this, with the Angels still coming, they knew they would be able to fight harder and better now that they had something to fight for. Not only each other, but the one that was on it's way.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Author's Notes:

Hope everyone enjoyed the third chapter to this story. I don't know if or when I'll be able to update this. I might just leave it. I could, since I've got other projects going right now.

I hope the explanation was to everyone's liking, and understanding. I admit that it does sound like a sci-fi movie plot, from the movie Supernova, which I haven't seen in years. Maybe I subconsciously got the idea from that movie, but, who knows.

Anyway, I'm just glad I got this finished. It's been a rough night, what with my computer acting up and such. And please read my other stories.

Read and Review. So long!


	4. Chapter 4

_**UNEXPECTED LIVES 4**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I own nothing from NGE.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Misato was upset, but understanding and even proud at what Shinji was doing.

Upset because she would no longer have his cleaning and cooking services, despite how affectionate she actually was towards the boy.

Understanding because she knew that he and Maya's child would require more attention and care than herself. Maya would as well.

And Pride that Shinji was willingly accepting this responsibility to take care of this child. He seemed more willing to do this than to pilot Eva, which wasn't a stretch since he practically hated Eva.

She watched as Shinji had quickly packed his stuff and headed towards the door.

"Shinji?" Misato called.

"Yeah, Misato?"

"I just... I just wanted to tell you... that even though I don't fully understand all this... well I do, I just..." _God, why is this so hard? It's like I'm watching my own son leave the nest for the first time._ She thought as she looked at the boy. _But this makes sense. No one's complaining. Hell, the commander can barely talk. Ritsuko's made sure that everyone in NERV knows about the exact details so there won't be any future rumors going on behind their backs. Right, like they would want the truth. They'll still wonder, giggle and joke. I just wish this..._

"Misato?" Shinji's voice pulled her out of her musings.

"Shinji?"

"I'm going to be alright. I'm sure of it." he smiled.

She smiled back at him. "I know, Shinji. It's just... I'm... going to miss you."

Shinji tossed her an odd look, like he was hurt. "Misato, I'm not going to move away and never see you again. Maya's apartment is only a couple miles away in Green Sector. It's not the other side of the world. Besides, we're going to need a godmother soon." he smiled.

Misato was a little petrified at that. Her smile warmed and she embraced the young man tightly.

"I accept, Shinji!" she exclaimed.

The pair hugged for a couple minutes until Shinji felt it was time to go.

"Maya's waiting." he said.

"I know. You'd better get going." she smirked. "Don't want to keep your wife waiting."

Shinji would have commented on that, but kept his mouth shut. Given their current circumstances, the statement held some validity.

Shinji smiled and exited the apartment as Misato watched him go.

_And here I thought I'd be the one._

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Shinji descended down the elevators and came to the parking lot where Maya was waiting for him.

She smiled at him.

"Yes, Maya. She took it better than I expected." Shinji said.

"And you asked her to be our child's godmother." Maya said.

"Kinda blind sided her with it."

"Shinji!"

He shrugged. "I figured it was better that way."

"Oh, you! Come on, I have a shift in an hour."

"I'll have dinner waiting for you when you get home."

The pair drove to Maya's apartment.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"So, what do you think?" Maya asked.

_Smaller than Misato's, but that's to be expected_. "At least you're neater than Misato."

"That bad huh?"

Shinji just looked at her, and she nodded.

"Well, everything's pretty explanatory. Kitchen, bathroom, living room, computer, television. But there is the issue of sleeping arrangements."

"I'll sleep on the couch."

Maya looked at his curiously. "Are you sure? I've slept on that thing. Not the most comfortable piece of furniture."

"You're pregnant, you should have the bed."

She smirked at him. "Well, you are the father, maybe you should..."

"Married couples do that, Maya. Right now, I haven't the right."

She smiled and nodded.

"Right. Well... I need to get to NERV. My shift starts soon."

"The usual for dinner?"

"Yes, please." she said before kissing him on the cheek and heading out.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"So, Maya, how are things with you and the hubby?" Aoba chuckled.

Maya's expression turned sour. "For the last time, he's not my husband."

"Yeah, he's just living with her since she's carrying his child." Hyuga stated.

Maya was fuming now. She had expected this sort of thing from them, but she was really losing her ability to maintain her composure.

Fortunately, she didn't have to.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" Dr Akagi spoke sternly as she entered onto the bridge.

"No Ma'am!" the pair cried in unison and resumed their work.

Maya turned to her sempai and mouthed the words, 'thank you'.

Ritsuko winked back and the group resumed their work.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

About an hour later Maya and Ritsuko were in the doctors office just talking.

"So, how is it going, Maya?"

"Fine, sempai."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, sempai. I'm just... can I please have some coffee?"

"No, Maya. I wouldn't recommend this to a person who _wasn't_ pregnant." she smirked. "You have your child's future to think about. Your health and the health of your child come first."

The young tech groaned. "I know. I just... I never thought I'd be pregnant this early in my life."

"Considering what we do, what the stakes are, you should consider this a sign of good fortune."

"What do you mean?"

Ritsuko sighed. "Maya, make no mistake. We are in the middle of a war. In war, people die. Having a child, even like this, is a good thing, if only because it represents hope for the future. The future of the whole world rests on our shoulders. Moreso, on the narrow shoulders of your... husband." she said with some hesitance.

Maya blushed at that. She knew Ritsuko hadn't intended it to sound like she was teasing her, but the doctor, in a way, did have a point. The Angels weren't finished with them yet, and if Dr Akagi was right, then there were at least three more Angels to worry about. Which meant that Shinji and the others would have to fight until there was nothing left to fight.

And that worried her a bit.

Shinji was a good person. She was proud to have his child. But the danger he was constantly put in made her cringe.

For the longest time, Shinji had been on the front lines of the so-called Angel Wars and before she had never been so concerned. There was little reason since she and Shinji had never before been close. They had kissed a little, never slept together, and she had gotten pregnant with his child and he hadn't even touched her.

It was an odd relationship to be sure. Unexpected, definitely. She had originally joined NERV because she believed that it was necessary, important. Now she had another reason.

Her child. His child. Their child.

There wasn't a true definition. Nothing that they had spoken of lately, or yet. She smirked, realizing that they didn't need to really speak to each other. It was as if they knew the others thoughts due to their time spent in Eva.

She smiled.

"Maya, are you alright?" Ritsuko asked.

"Just... thinking." she replied.

Suddenly, the alarms sounded.

"An Angel! Maya we..." Ritsuko said, but the young woman was already on the phone.

"Shinji, there's an Angel headed towards us! We need you at NERV now!" Maya shouted into her cell as she ran out of the office and back to the bridge.

"Uh... right." the doctor replied as she followed her assistant out.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Eva Launch!" Misato shouted as the Eva's launched straight up the elevators.

"Shinji, Asuka, listen!" Ritsuko shouted into the communicator. "The Angel is hovering in low orbit, unfortunately just out of range of our weapons."

"So, how do we stop it?"

"For now, we wait."

The two Eva's had reached ground level and were poised, waiting patiently for something to happen.

But they didn't have to wait long as the Angel suddenly fired a beam of energy... at Unit 02.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Asuka shouted in pain. Her Eva didn't move, but inside the entry plug the girl was thrashing around violently.

"Maya, what's going on?" Shinji asked.

"The Angel's attacking Asuka. It's attacking her brain!"

"A psychic attack?"

"That's Impossible!" Ritsuko shouted.

"Maya, I'm moving!" Shinji shouted as he moved from his position toward Asuka."

"Shinji, wait!"

But it was too late. Shinji threw himself directly at Asuka, body checking her Eva and knocking it to the ground, effectively taking her place in the beams path.

The effect was instant.

"AAAARRRGGGGGHHHH!" Shinji shouted in pain as he grabbed his head.

Back inside NERV...

"Argh!" Maya gasped as she suddenly held her head in pain.

"Maya! Are you alright?" Ritsuko asked as she moved towards the young tech.

"Ahhh... yeah... I'm fine. It just feels like a pounding headache..." she said as she slumped forward onto her console.

Ritsuko looked at Maya and then at Shinji on the monitor. Both of them had reacted at the same time the Angel had attacked, the only difference was that Shinji, being in the direct line of fire, was taking the full force of the attack. Maya herself appeared to be suffering to a lesser degree, but her assistant had reacted at the same time Shinji had. It looked like it was sapping her strength.

She looked back to the monitor and saw Asuka shooting her rifle at the Angel. Unfortunately, it was just out of range of her weapon.

"DAMMIT! I need a better weapon!" Asuka shouted.

Ritsuko thought for a moment. She pressed the button on the console. "Rei, get the lance."

Misato looked at Ritsuko for a second. "Lance/ What lance?"

"A new type of weapon that Commander Ikari obtained during the Tenth Angel attack when he was in Antarctica." Ritsuko explained.

_He obtained a weapon for Eva?_ Misato wondered.

"Tell Rei... to hurry." Maya gasped as she continued to hold her head.

Rei's Eva reached the top of the lift and clutched tightly the two-pronged lance in her hand.

With a mighty throw that would have made an Olympic athlete proud, Rei hurled the odd looking lance at the Angel still in high orbit. The lance flew through the air and pierced the Angels AT-Field before it struck and destroyed the Angel itself.

While Rei had succeeded in her attempt, Asuka had recovered and moved her Eva in order to get to Shinji.

"Shinji? Shinji! Talk to me!" the redhead shouted.

All eyes turned back to the Eva 01 monitor and saw that Shinji was unconscious.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Shinji awoke and found himself staring at the same unfamiliar ceiling that he was getting used to. He suddenly realized that there was a weight on his legs. He looked down and saw a mop of short brown hair resting on him.

"Maya?" he asked softly, gently waking her.

"You're awake." she breathed a sigh of relief as she sat up and brushed the wrinkles out of her shirt.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Fine, for now." she said.

"How did... the Angel! It attacked me. Hit me with some kind of..."

"Psychic attack. I know. Asuka said the same thing." she said.

"Felt like my brain was being ripped apart. So many bad memories coming up all at once."

"Yeah, I felt it too."

Shinji's eyes widened as a bad thought dawned on him.

"I'm sorry about that, Maya. I didn't know that would happen."

"It's alright, Shinji. You couldn't have known. Besides, if our connection was any stronger, I'd have been a lot worse."

"Is the baby alright?"

She smiled. "I believe so. Sempai gave me a physical and we're both healthy."

Shinji breathed a sigh of relief. He suddenly realized something. "Sorry, but I don't think I'm going to have dinner ready tonight."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Maya was into her second month of pregnancy. Shinji was out of the hospital and the pair had just gotten back from a rather tense dinner with her parents.

"Do you think your parents took it well?" Shinji asked the older woman.

"About me being pregnant, you being the father, or that I'm not married?" Maya asked.

"A, B, and C."

The pair giggled at the events of the past four hours.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(((Flashback)))

Maya had gotten a call from her parents saying that they wanted to have her over for dinner. Maya knew this would happen eventually, and she decided to bring Shinji along. The reason was two-fold: one because she was going to tell them she was pregnant, and two because she wanted Shinji to meet them both.

The dinner had gone smoothly, and Maya's parents had apparently liked Shinji well enough. They were also honored to meet one of the 'defenders of the world'. Shinji couldn't help but blush at that.

Everything was going good, until Maya announced that she was pregnant. That nearly sent her dad into a coronary.

"What?" he gasped.

"You're pregnant?" her mother gasped as well. "But... whose the father?"

"Uh.. technically... that would be me." Shinji said.

Maya's parents looked at the boy in shock.

"You're the father?"

"Technically? What do you mean technically?"

"I had artificial insemination." Maya explained, which was relatively close to the truth.

Her parents eased up a little at that. Just to look at her, they could tell that their daughter wasn't lying to them. That part eased their minds, but the one thing that still confused them, was Shinji.

"So, let me understand this." her father said. "Our daughter is pregnant, via artificial insemination, and you're the father." he said to Shinji.

"Yes." Shinji stated.

"Uh... I'm still confused at this."

Shinji and Maya then went into a fairly detailed explanation as to how this had happened.

Apparently, NERV has a very thorough health screening. This was especially true for the Eva pilots. He had given them blood and tissue samples, which included skin, hair, and even bone marrow samples, but also semen.

This was primarily done because it was a U.N. sanctioned top secret government agency, and meant that extreme measures had to be taken to ensure the pilot health. If anything happened to them, such as a poison or chemical attack on them personally, NERV would have extensive records and samples of his DNA on file, in case they needed to formulate an antidote.

Her parents looked at each other in confusion, but nodded in understanding.

"Well, I guess that makes sense." the mother said.

"Paranoid, anal retentive, fascists." her father mumbled.

Maya's mother gave him a 'be silent' look and turned back to the pair.

"But if what you're saying is true, and I have to admit it does make sense, then how did... well what I mean to say is..."

"How did I end up with Shinji's semen?" Maya answered her question.

"Yes."

"Well, we checked on that, and apparently... after one of the Angels attacked NERV, part of the lab where the semen was being stored, was destroyed. A lot of samples were lost, and a few vials were spilled over. When they were reorganizing them, we think that they accidentally mixed up one of the vials and it just happened to be Shinji's. We only found out after the process that it did belong to Shinji."

"When Maya told me what had happened, I was a little shocked." Shinji said, adding his two-cents. "We talked about this for awhile, and we eventually agreed that we would work together in raising this child."

Her father was a bit lost on her explanation. Granted that ensuing chaos could cause such a mix up, but how could they have screwed up _that_ much? You would think that the NERV pilots DNA would be kept separate from all others to make it easier to find.

Her mother, however, was slightly impressed that someone as young as Shinji, who already had a tremendous responsibility of piloting the Evangelions, was willing to take on the additional duty of being a parent.

"So, you two haven't..."

"Mother!" Maya shouted, knowing where that line of thought was going. "Shinji and I are living together now, only because we agreed to both take care of the baby."

"And you, Maya." Shinji added.

Maya smiled at that. "You don't have to be so concerned for me all the time Shinji."

"Well, it's not just you, Maya."

She rolled her eyes at that.

After dinner, Maya and her mother were in the kitchen cleaning up while Shinji and Maya's father were talking in the living room.

"So, you're really alright with this?" Maya asked.

"Well, I have to admit it's all pretty sudden. And unexpected. I mean... pregnant, with the child of a 14 year old whose job it is to defend the world piloting a giant robot." her mother said.

"Welcome to my life." Maya grinned.

"Maya?"

"Yes?"

"You're sure you want to do this? Have this child?"

She smiled at her mother. "Of course. Shinji's a good person. He's kind, and honest, and thinks of others before himself. Just the kind of person whose child I want to have."

"But... you said that this whole business with the Angels wasn't finished."

"It's not. But I'm confidant in Shinji and the other pilots. And now... I guess Shinji has a new reason to try even harder to win." she said with a lite smile.

Her mother looked at her and smiled as she moved to hug her daughter. "I'm happy for you, Maya. Really I am." she said, pulling back from her daughter. "But there's one more thing I want to know."

"Sure."

"If this whole business with the Angels is as bad as you say, why did you do this now? I mean... after I could have understood, but... you don't know when these things are going to be coming and you don't know when this whole thing will be over. So... why now?"

Maya sighed a little as she looked away. She had been expecting this question and had a response for her mother.

"I guess... I never really thought about it before. We've come close to losing Shinji and the others so many times, I guess I just started to wonder." she smiled a little. "I mean... you should have seen the number of times Major Katsuragi has been worried over Shinji every time he came back from nearly being killed by the Angels."

"Worried like a mother?"

Maya nodded. "She was the first one to take Shinji in when he first came to Tokyo-3. You could say she cares for him like a mother. I mean... his mother died when he was younger and his father just isn't... well, he isn't..."

"Kind? Accepting?"

"Concerned."

"I see."

"So, I decided I would do this because I wanted something good to come out of this whole blasted war. And when I found out that Shinji was the father... well... I knew this was right."

Meanwhile, in the living room...

"So, tell me about yourself, Shinji. What do you do? Your hobbies? What's it like to pilot those giant robots?" Maya's father asked the more important question.

Shinji looked down at the floor. "I don't like it."

"Oh?"

Shinji decided to go honest.

"I remember my first time piloting. I'd never done anything like that before, and they just kinda... threw me into it. Piloting a giant robot my first day of arriving in Tokyo-3, against a giant monster I'd never seen before. I was scared, nervous, I didn't know what to expect. I remember feeling pain in my arm, and my head. I don't... really remember how I won. But... somehow I did."

Maya's father looked at Shinji like he was studying him.

"If it causes you pain, why do you pilot?"

"Because I can. Because if I don't, NERV will just get someone else, who may be worse. They could die and... I don't want that."

There was nothing in the boy that sent up a red flag to the older man. Everything he said was honest and true, and he could tell he was pained by it.

_Pain vs duty. _

He obviously didn't like piloting, but if he didn't people would get hurt. People would die and he had a duty to make sure that didn't happen.

"So... what are your hobbies?"

"I play the cello."

"Really?"

Maya and her mother entered the living room and joined the conversation until Maya announced that they had to be going.

They left her mother and father's house and headed back to their apartment in Tokyo-3, all the while talking about the conversations they had had with Maya's folks.

"They're good people." Shinji said.

"And I think they like you." Maya added.

"I hope so. Technically, they're going to be my in-laws."

Maya giggled at that. While they weren't married, Maya was having his child, so they would be related in a sense.

"I'm just glad they bought it all."

"Well, it's not like we could tell your parents the truth. They'd never believe it."

"Yeah. I'm still having a hard time dealing with it and it's happened to me."

Shinji and Maya smiled as they arrived at home.

"Home sweet home." Shinji said.

"Yeah. Shinji?"

"Yeah, Maya?"

"Would you mind..." she started to say. But Shinji knew what she was going to say.

He blushed a little and smiled. "Sure, Maya."

That night the pair slept in the same bed. Shinji was a little uncomfortable with it, but that passed as he and Maya snuggled close to each other for warmth and comfort. Shinji liked the closeness of it, the feeling of being needed by someone he cared for. And it wasn't just her, he knew.

They were going to have a baby, and as unexpected as this all way, Shinji knew it was right.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Authors Notes:

Well, here it is, hope you liked it, because it took a while to update.

I wasn't sure how much I could extend the 15th Angel battle, but I did manage to get in as much of the fight as I thought was possible. The dinner between Shinji and Maya and her parents was kinda done at the last minute. I was originally going to do just a summary of their dinner, but I thought it needed a little more than that.

It's just amazing to me sometimes how you can get something finished just by starting it and you just keep writing and writing until its done.

Amazing.

Keep your eyes open for the next chapter, when the 16th Angel attacks and Shinji will have to make a life-altering decision.

Please read and review, and also read the Omake below. It's from the third chapter.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Omake for Unexpected Lives by shinji the good sharer

"Im pregnant?" Maya asked in shock.

"And I'm the father?" Shinji asked, equally shocked as he tried to stand.

"I knew it! You two were doing it in the Eva the whole month!" Asuka shouted.

"I doubt its possible she had sex with Shinji." Ritsuko stated.

"Why not?" Misato finally managed to get her voice box working.

"Because she's still a virgin!" she said calmly, but with emphasis on virgin.

Everyone's jaw, including Mayas, dropped.

"WHAT?" they all chorused.

"The medical examination report indicated that Maya hasn't had any physical contact of that sort."

"But...she's pregnant." Misato said, still shocked.

"Yes."

"And Shinji's the father?" Asuka asked, also shocked.

"Yes."

"So I'm unmanly huh Asuka!" Shinji smirked. "I can get a girl pregnant without even touching her! Let's see Kaji pull THAT off!"

Asuka could only stagger off in a horrified daze at the thought that Shinji could out man Kaji.

"Shinji Ikari! I will not have my future husband teasing young girls!"

And with those words the last of the Ikari family spine was crushed from Shinji's body and he became the whipped little puppy that every Ikari male became upon hearing the word "shotgun marriage". There was no longer a way to run for him.


	5. Chapter 5

_**UNEXPECTED LIVES 5**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I own nothing from NGE.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(Secret location)

"Tell me how badly we are compromised."

"Not very."

"Elaborate."

"Gendo Ikari is little more than a quadriplegic. One of NERV's computer techs is pregnant with The Third Child's baby. And the Eva-Series are only 90 completed. Not to mention the 16th Angel is late."

"Calm yourself. We always suspected that Gendo would betray us. This way he is less mobile. We cannot put the Eva-series into effect until after the 17th has been destroyed anyway. So we have time. And as for the female computer tech and the Third Child, it is of no importance. Their, 'relationship', will not affect the scenario."

"I hope you are right."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(Maya's Apartment)

"ACHOO!" Shinji sneezed as he turned his head away from the frying pan. "Oh, wow. What was that?"

"Shinji? Are you alright?" Maya asked from the bedroom.

"Yes, Maya. I'm alright." Shinji said , wrinkling his nose. _But what was that? I'm not sick, I'm sure. So... is someone talking about me? _

That got Shinji to thinking. Did someone leak out that him and Maya were living together? That she was having his baby? He hoped not. It would be bad enough to be ridiculed by his peers about that, but Maya would get it worse. She was at least ten years older than him, and he was technically still a minor. The legal repercussions would be devastating. That and she would be branded a pedophile for life, even after he reached the appropriate age.

No! He wouldn't let that happen. Maya was too nice a person to have people think less of her in any way, shape or form. If it came down to it, he would defend his position and his choice.

What happened to them may have been a freak accident with Eva, but that didn't mean they had to suffer the opinions and nepotism of others.

Shinji was broken out of his thoughts by a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, a taller form leaning against him.

"Maya?"

"Thank you, Shinji." the woman said as he felt a tear fall into his face.

Maya had felt Shinji's emotions from the bedroom, the desire to protect her, comfort her, a fierce commitment to be there for her no matter what. Likewise now, Shinji could feel Maya's emotions. Her happiness, her joy, her sheer contentment at he was there for her.

"I meant it Maya. I'll be there for you, no matter what."

Maya hugged him tighter. "I know, Shinji. I know." she said, kissing him on the cheek and just kept holding him.

Shinji really didn't mind, but it did make cooking breakfast a little more of a challenge.

"No tickling." he said.

"Spoil-sport." she replied, nuzzling his ear with her nose.

Shinji and Maya sat down to breakfast. The young woman eating twice as much as himself. They ate in silence, until the phone rang. Shinji got up and answered it.

"Ibuki residence." Shinji said.

"..."

"WHAT? When did this... sure, sure. I'll be right over." Shinji said, hanging up the phone.

"What was that?" Maya asked, sensing his distress.

"Kaji's been killed."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Shinji and Maya spent the rest of the day at Misato's apartment just talking and comforting the purple-haired major.

Misato had received a message on her machine from Kaji about something rather important. She had declined to go into details about it, but what she suspected was true.

Asuka knew nothing of this, as she was currently sleeping over at Hikari's house.

"Here." Shinji said as he handed the woman some tea.

"Thanks, Shinji." a sad Misato said, accepting the tea. "I didn't mean to disturb you guys. It's just..."

"Forget it, Major." Maya said. "We're here if you need us."

"Thanks again." he said, sipping the tea. "So... how's things with you guys?"

"Not bad. Maya's been eating us out of house and home though." Shinji joked.

Maya gave him a mock frown and punched him playfully in the shoulder.

The next hour was spent just talking about this and that, Misato personally missing this kind of happy family environment since Shinji moved out.

But eventually, things turned serious.

"Does Asuka know about this?" Shinji asked.

"No, and we're not going to tell her until I can find a way to break this gently." Misato replied.

"Somehow I don't think there is a way to do it gently." Maya stated.

"I guess not." the older woman admitted.

"So, what happened?" Shinji asked.

Misato frowned a little.

"Kaji was a spy from the Japanese Department of the Interior. He'd been sent to investigate NERV and it's dealings, and found out something... disturbing." she said.

"What?" Shinji asked.

Misato then told them about the Angel Adam that was inside Terminal Dogma they had discovered several days ago.

"An Angel?" Shinji gasped.

"Inside NERV?" Maya gasped.

"Yes." Misato said.

"But how... where did it come from?"

"That's something I need to talk to Ritsuko about." Misato said.

"Sempai? But why?" Maya asked, more than a little shocked.

"I find it impossible that NERV's chief scientist _wouldn't_ know about this. And there isn't anything this big in NERV that Gendo would be ignorant of. But I doubt he'll be very talkative, especially to me. So Ritsuko's my only choice."

Shinji and Maya looked at each other, only nodding in understanding.

"Can we help?" Shinji asked.

"Right now, no. I have a few things to work out myself." Misato said, turning to Shinji. "And you should get to school, young man."

Shinji rolled his eyes, but agreed.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

After leaving Maya and Misato at his guardian's apartment, Shinji proceeded to school. He had promised not to tell Asuka about this, as such a thing would have destroyed her.

However, when he arrived just after lunch...

"SHINJI!" Toji screamed, pushed in his wheelchair by Kensuke.

"What?" the blue-eyed boy asked the approaching pair.

"Why didn't you tell us you were married!" Kensuke grilled. "And with a kid no less!"

"WHA..." he started to say, until he say Asuka and Hikari behind them. "Oh, god!"

Toji and Kensuke then started firing off question after question, endlessly badgering Shinji about his new life and everything. Asuka had obviously let it slip to Hikari that Shinji and Maya were having a child together, and the class rep had apparently told Toji and Kensuke.

While Hikari wasn't a gossip by any means, telling Toji and Kensuke was not her brightest idea to date. The second the pair had heard this, they absolutely could not resist teasing Shinji about this.

_Maybe I should ask Section-2 to arrest them for... harassment of NERV personnel_. Shinji grumbled as the pair continued. _Or killed. That would be easier. _He paused._ Whoa! Where did that come from?_

"So do you have a name picked out?"

"Why weren't we invited to the wedding?"

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Have you thought about what school they're going to go to?"

"Will they be an Eva pilot like you?"

"What's she like in bed?"

"ALRIGHT! That's the line!" Shinji shouted in anger at their reference to Maya.

"Sorry." the pair said, backing away slightly.

"Do we get to have a bachelor party now?" Toji asked.

"Maybe with Misato as the stripper?" Kensuke grinned.

"OH YEAH!" they cried in unison.

The second they had mentioned Misato, Shinji saw his opportunity to break away from them and run back to class. He knew that that image would overload their brains for awhile.

However, he ran into another figure who wished to talk to him.

"Shinji-kun?"

"Rei-chan?"

"I wished to speak to you."

"Oh. About what?"

"Your child with Ms Ibuki."

_Oh great_. He groaned, not really wanting to face this issue again. "Uh, what did you want to know?"

"As you have no relatives, and Commander Ikari is clearly indifferent to your situation, as well as incapable of any physical movement at this time, who will be taking care of your own child while our campaign against the Angels continues?"

"Uh, well... Misato has agreed to be our childs godmother."

"But she is the Director of Operations. She cannot care for your child while you are on the battlefield nor while Miss Ibuki is operating the Magi."

"That's true..." he stated. "To be honest, we haven't really talked to anyone else about this."

"Then perhaps..."

Suddenly, both of their cellphones went off.

"An Angel!" they cried in unison.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

NERV Headquarters, one hour ago...

Ritsuko led Misato down the hallway.

"To be honest, I'm a little surprised you agreed so easily to this, Ritsuko." Misato said.

"Well, I have my reasons." she said as the pair approached the steel doors at the end of the hallway. "And I hope this answers all your questions."

Misato nodded sadly. "I hope so too. Kaji would have wanted it that way."

After hearing about the late triple-agent, Ritsuko was more than willing to help Misato finish what her old friend had started. "Here's our first stop."

"This isn't a guided tour, Ritz."

"I apologize for trying to lighten the mood."

"Sorry." Misato said with a small smile.

"This is the Artificial Evolution Laboratory." Ritsuko said as she opened the door.

Misato followed Ritsuko into the room as she pulled a small remote control from the pocket of her lab oat and entered a few keystrokes. The lights activated in the room.

"This looks like Rei Ayanami's room." Misato said as she noticed the room.

"Actually, it IS Ayanami's room. It's where she lived the first few years of her life. Where she was born."

Misato looked impatient. "Ritsuko, this isn't what I wanted to see."

"I know, Misato. But this is part of the truth."

Ritsuko continued through the room, causing Misato to follow her, until they came to another door. Ritsuko opened the door and stepped inside, turning on the lights and causing the female Major to gasp as she saw a large room full of giant bones laid out on the floor.

"Oh, my, god." Misato exclaimed as she looked over the edge of the platform and looked to the first skeleton below her.

"The very first Eva." Ritsuko said. "But it was a failure. Discarded here nearly ten years ago."

"You mean it's a graveyard." Misato said.

"A dumping ground for failures, actually. This is also the room where Shinji's mother disappeared."

"WHAT?" Misato gasped as she turned to face Ritsuko.

"His mother was the first pilot of Evangelion. But during the first activation test, she got absorbed into it. The recovery process failed and all that was left was an empty shell."

Misato was getting impatient. "Ritsuko, get on with it!"

Ritsuko sighed and turned to walk out the door. Misato followed and walked to the next destination. When they arrived, Ritsuko entered a few commands into the controller and opened the door.

"Before we go in, Misato... are you sure you are ready for this?"

"I didn't come this far to stop now." she informed her.

"Alright, but I have to warn you, you may find this very unsettling."

"I understand."

Ritsuko walked through the doorway with Misato behind her.

_I have to see it and learn the truth for myself, no matter how disturbing it may be._ Misato thought.

Misato and Ritsuko stop 30 meters in front of a large tube connected to a mass of piping leading up into the ceiling.

"Is this the source of the dummy plug?" Misato asked the blond doctor.

"No, this is only a piece of it. Let me show you the truth."

Ritsuko taps the controller, causing the walls of the room to glow a golden color. When the light has become strong enough, they both saw a group of bodies floating in a tank that winds along the walls.

Misato's eyes widen as he realizes who the naked bodies looked like.

"Rei?" she gasped as she suddenly saw dozens of eyes open and focus right on her. "But... this is impossible! You mean Eva's dummy plug is..."

"Yes. This is the production floor of the core for the dummy plug that we used to take control of Eva during the 13th Angel attack."

"And these are..."

"Dummies. Replacement parts for Rei."

"I don't..."

"Man found God, and they tried to pick him up. For that Man was punished! That happened fifteen years ago, and the God they found disappeared. Then Man tried to resurrect God with his own hands and that's how Adam was created. From Adam, Man created what resembles God, himself. That is Eva!" Ritsuko exclaimed.

"You mean the Eva's are... human?"

"In a way. Cloned copies of the Angel in Terminal Dogma."

"Adam." Misato stated.

"No. Not Adam... Lilith."

Misato balked. "The... _second_ Angel?"

"It was used to create the bodies of the Eva's... Rei was to be used as the soul... to control them."

"The dummy plugs."

"Right."

"And you cloned her."

"Yes. Eva was cloned from Lilith, as was Rei."

"Talk about a sick connection." she mumbled.

"Part of my job was to oversee her intellectual growth, but to also maintain the health of the clones in case Rei ever... died."

Ritsuko pulled the remote control out and aimed it at the tank.

"Has she died before?" Misato asked, noticing the remote in her hand.

"Once..." she muttered. "But that isn't important. These clones have no real souls, so they're nothing more than puppets to be used for the will of the commander."

_This isn't right_. Misato thought.

"And now... they will no longer serve him." she said as she was about to press the button.

_What_? She thought. There was something in that tone she didn't like. "NO!" Misato shouted and snatched the remote out of her hand.

"What?"

"What do you think you're going to do to them?" Misato asked.

"End their existence. Without them... there is no dummy plug. No way for the commander to control the Eva's."

"He's Stephen Hawking wannabe, Ritz. He's not really in a position to make too many orders, especially where the dummy plug is concerned."

"Still... they have no real purpose. It's a cursed existence, and they shouldn't be allowed to suffer for a reason they can't comprehend."

"You're going to just... kill them?"

"They have no souls, Misato. No conscious thoughts or any real self-awareness. They're just... empty husks."

"Maybe. But that's not for us to decide. Not right now anyway."

"What do you..."

Suddenly, their phones rang.

"An Angel!"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The pilots, the Operations Director, and the head scientist of NERV were in position when the Angel attacked.

"Get this freaking thing to hold still!" Asuka shouted, wasting shot after shot from her rifle.

The 16th Angel wriggled through the air, evading shot after shot as it sped towards her and slammed into her body.

"ARGH!" Asuka shouted as the glowing noodle-like Angel began inserting itself into her Eva.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"The Angel is attempting First-Level contact!" Ritsuko shouted.

"It's merging with the Eva?" Misato gasped.

"It could be trying to take it over!"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Eva 02 was squirming on the ground as Asuka attempted to pull the Angel out of the robots body.

Rei in Eva 00 raced towards the red Eva and grabbed the squirming Angel.

"GET...IT...OUT...OF...ME!" Asuka screamed, holding her chest with her own hands. _WHY DOES IT FEEL LIKE THIS! IT'S SOOO PAINFUL!_

"I have it!" Rei shouted as she succeeded in pulling out the Angel from Eva 02's chest.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Asuka's unconscious!" Maya shouted from her console.

"Forcefully pulling the Angel out of Unit 02 has sent Asuka into shock." Ritsuko said.

"Rei, get away from Unit 02! Use the rifle! Shinji, back her up!" Misato shouted.

"Retrieval team on stand-by to recover Unit 02 and it's pilot." Ritsuko said.

"MAJOR! THE ANGEL IS ATTEMPT TO FUSE WITH UNIT-00!" Maya shouted suddenly.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"ARGH!" Rei shouted as the Angel started to fuse with Unit 00's right arm.

"HANG ON REI!" Shinji shouted as he pushed his Eva towards her.

"No... Shinji-kun... stay away..." the girl groaned.

"Rei, what are you saying?"

"The Angel is infecting my Eva! It has reached my shoulder!" she groaned in pain.

"Forget it, I'm coming to help you!"

(Pilot Ikari... sssstand... down.) Gendo hissed over the com.

"WHAT? WHY?" he gasped.

(The Eva... issss lost...Rei... activate... detonation.)

"Understood." Rei said with a sadness only Shinji recognized.

_What? WHAT?_ "NO!" Shinji shouted as he pushed his Eva forward.

(Shinji what are you doing?) Misato asked.

(Pilot Ikari... stand... down.) Gendo spoke again.

"I'm not taking orders from that cripple!" Shinji shouted as he advanced Unit 01. "No one dies on my watch! That's the rule!"

Shinji reached Unit 00 and grabbed the Angel as it continued to infuse with the blue Eva. He grabbed it and pulled the Angel out. Rei screamed in pain as he continued to pull, finally stopping as he had succeeded.

However, the Angel immediately turned on Shinji and started to fuse with his Eva.

"ARGH!" he shouted as the Eva wrapped around his neck and chest.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"ARGH!" Maya shouted as she grabbed her neck with her own hands.

"MAYA!" Ritsuko gasped.

"What's wrong!" Misato asked as the pair raced to the female tech.

"Maya and Shinji are psychically connected. They can feel each other's pain!" Ritsuko explained as Maya crumbled to the ground in the woman's arms.

"I need a med-team to the control room, STAT!" Misato shouted to Hyuga.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Shinji grappled with the Eva and forced his AT-Field through Unit-01, scrambling the Angel's AT-Field and weakening it enough for the boy to grab the Angel with his freehand and shove part of the Angel into Eva's mouth.

The pain was intense as he forced the bio-mechanical behemoth to bite down on the Angel. The Angel screamed in pain, but it's screeching went unheard as it suddenly died.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"I... I don't believe it. Unit 01 has... eaten the Angel's core." Ritsuko gasped as she read the data on the console.

"It's WHAT?" Misato gasped as Maya rested comfortably on the stretcher next to her console.

"Blue pattern has disappeared." Hyuga said.

"Any change in Unit 01?" Misato asked.

"Negative. The pilot's still conscious."

_Still conscious?_ "Amazing." Ritsuko gasped.

However, Gendo was fuming at this. Mostly since he couldn't do anything else.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Shinji-kun... you saved me." Rei said through the comm of the Eva's.

"Of course. I want you to babysit my kid someday." Shinji grinned weakly.

Rei looked up and smiled at that. "I would be honored." she replied as the retrieval team arrived.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

It was a full day later. The Eva's had been repaired and the pilots were back to full health. Shinji and Maya had been called to Dr Akagi's office, saying it was urgent.

"Sempai, is everything alright?" Maya asked, rather nervous about yesterday.

"Yes, yes. Thank you both for coming so quickly." the blond doctor said.

"So, what's wrong?" Shinji asked.

"Well, as I'm sure you're both aware, Shinji's battle with the 16th Angel caused a psychic backlash that sent Maya into a temporary catatonic state."

Shinji looked at the floor, upset that Maya had been hurt once more because of him. He was more than a little stunned when he felt Maya's fingers intertwine with his.

He looked up as she smiled at him, telling him she wasn't upset. She understood why Shinji had done it. Still, he was obviously upset about the whole thing.

"So, is everything alright?" Maya asked.

"Well... I've got the results back from your physical... and there's something you should know." Ritsuko started to explain.

The pair suddenly grew fearful and asked quickly.

"Is something wrong with the baby?"

"What aren't you telling us, Sempai?"

"I was getting to that before you interrupted." Dr Akagi stated.

"What's wrong with him/her?" the pair asked at once.

Ritsuko started backing away, more from their creepy unison than the fact they were crowding her out.

"First of all, there's nothing wrong with your child. Health-wise." the pair let out a sigh of relief as she continued. "The problem is space."

"Space?" Maya asked, obviously confused.

"The other occupant is the real problem."

"The 'Other' occupant?" Shinji asked, wide-eyed.

"You mean..." Maya started.

"TWINS?" the pair chorused.

"Yes." Ritsuko said with a smile.

At hearing such incredible news, Shinji did what he always did.

He fainted.

"Oh, yes. Heart of a lion, this one." Ritsuko giggled as Maya tried to wake the boy.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Authors Notes:

Well, here's hoping everyone enjoyed that little chapter update.

Just to clarify: Toji is alive and in a wheelchair awaiting replacement parts for his lost limbs. He still has his sense of humor and loves teasing Shinji just like Kensuke. Gendo is still paralyzed, but can talk and is technically still in command. Kaji is dead and Misato has discovered the truth about what NERV has been hiding.

(I know that she originally found out about this after the 16th Angel attack and Rei died, but I felt it went well with this chapter.)

I also have Misato saving the clones from destruction, as well as Ritsuko having a change of heart regarding her loyalty to Gendo and NERV's agenda.

Also, Toji, Kensuke and Hikari now know about Shinji and Maya, and that's going to be interesting to explain later on. (I'm working on that)

As always, Read and Review!


	6. Chapter 6

_**UNEXPECTED LIVES 6**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I own nothing from NGE.

Author's Notes: It's been a while since I updated this story. Sorry. Been busy with most of my other stories. Hopefully this update will satisfy those readers who have been waiting for this one to get updated.

Demonic dragon knight: Well, it's not quite a year yet. Hope this is alright.

Xonseru: I put your beat down idea into this. As for where the twin came from, read this chapter to see what Ritsuko deduced.

Genesis D. Rose: yes, it did sound a little like copyright infringement, but it was also very well placed and funny. I should probably consider adding it to this update.

Biggamehunter: nope, this story isn't discontinued. It's still going. Maybe another two or three chapters after this one, if I'm lucky.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Confusion.

That's what it was. Pure and simple confusion.

He looked around and saw that things were indeed different.

For one thing... the First Child was not dead. She was still in her second incarnation.

The pilot of Adam's clone was not in a coma as she was supposed to be.

And what's more, the lilium pilot of Lilith's clone was apparently having a child with one of the other lilium who inhabited this little... ant farm.

_Something has happened_. He thought as he looked around. _The scrolls are obviously wrong. The scenario is being compromised from it's intent. How could this be?_

His name was Kaworu Nagisa.

The Fifth Child of NERV and the 17th Angel called Tabris.

And he was very, very confused.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"OH! YES! THAT'S IT! THAT'S THE SPOT, SHINJI! OH YES, TAKE ME NOW!!!" Maya cried out as she reclined on the bed, gasping as the boys magic fingers did their job.

"Calm down, Maya-chan. You're going to get the kids upset." Shinji admonished as he continued rubbing the young woman's feet.

"I can't help it, Shinji-kun." she gasped. "Oh God! You too good at this!" she said as the young pilot shifted from her left foot to the right. "Did you take classes for this or something?"

"Not really. I read it in a book that Ritsuko gave me about pampering your significant other." he explained as he continued his ministrations.

"But we're not married." she exclaimed as her body felt completely at peace.

"I know." he sadly. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that."

Her attention came to full alert at that. "Shinji?" she said as she tried to look over at the boy.

"Well... you are having my children. Or... your having _our_ children." he corrected. "We're living and working together. We know virtually everything about each other."

"No kidding." she grinned, trying to sit up, despite the bulb that was her stomach.

"And I know I care about you." he said.

"I care about you too, Shinji-kun." she smiled.

"And so... I was wondering..."

"Yes!" she said quickly.

"What?" he gasped.

"Yes, I'll marry you!"

He groaned. "Maya! You could at least wait for me to ask you before you answer me!" he said.

"Sorry. I was still under the sway of your foot massage." she giggled at her own joke. "And have you forgotten that we think alike, Shinji-kun? So to answer your question again: Yes, I'll marry you."

His face brightened as the cute techie smiled at him. It had been less that two months since this crazy relationship had started, and Shinji had never seen a more beautiful sight. Maya was starting to show, though it wasn't large for having twins, it was quite noticeable. Regardless, the young pilot felt it was only right to ask the woman who was going to have his children to be his wife first.

Maya pulled Shinji to her and pressed her lips tenderly to his own. He returned the kiss with some passion, enjoying the feel of her soft mouth against his.

It was then that Shinji felt a pair of hands unbutton his shirt.

"Maya? What are you..." he said, but was stopped by her fingers on his lips.

"If you're going to be my husband, Shinji-kun, shouldn't we sleep together as if we are married?"

_Hmm. Is being pregnant making Maya less inhibited_? Shinji vaguely wondered as he felt his shirt fall away and a pair of warm hands run over his chest.

Maya smiled as her fingers glided over his feverish skin. In truth, Maya's condition was making her just a little bit lustful, especially from the fact she knew that Shinji truly loved her.

She moved forward and nuzzled his face gently with her nose.

"Maya..."

"Say it, Shinji-kun. Please just say it." she whispered to him in an almost haunting breath.

"I love you, Maya Ibuki." he whispered back to her. "Marry me, be my wife, and let me make you happy."

She smiled lightly as she unbuttoned her own oversized shirt and felt his hands push it gently from her shoulders, revealing her white silk bra which held her now larger breasts. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips, pulling closer to her to hold her tightly to his own bare body.

They kissed for several minutes before falling asleep in each others arms, their child, their future, nestled safely between them.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Shinji stepped through the gates of the school and was met by a boy with pale skin, grayish hair and red eyes wearing a school uniform.

_Like Rei._ He gasped as he looked at the boy, who stood before him like he was waiting for him.

"So, you are the Third Child." the boy said.

"Yes, and you are?" Shinji asked politely.

"Kaworu Nagisa. The Fifth Child." he introduced.

Shinji's eyes widened. "Oh. I didn't know you were coming so soon."

"It was rather... unexpected at that." he said with a smile. "As is your relationship with Ms Ibuki."

Shinji tensed. "You know about that already?"

"Yes. Though I am curious as to how this happened."

His frown caught Kaworu off-guard. "I'm... afraid I can't tell you that. It's private."

"Of course. Forgive me." he said as the boy stepped around him and walked into the school.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

However, his inquisition had just started.

"Come on, Shinji, you have to give us something." Kensuke said as the otaku quickly slid up to him.

"No I don't." Shinji stated.

"But you did get her pregnant." Toji, now using crutches, said.

Shinji glared hard at the class rep and the German redhead for letting this secret out. Asuka actually cringed, as the look he gave her reminded her of his father.

"Toji, you may be using crutches, but don't think that cuts you any slack right now." Shinji stated.

"Oh? What are you gonna go about it?" the jock asked.

Shinji glared at him, causing him to backpedal a little.

"At least give us something. Does she make a lot of noise?" Kensuke asked.

_That's one. _Shinji thought.

"Did you get her drunk first or something?" Toji said, regaining his strength.

"Maybe she got him drunk and seduced him." Kensuke added.

_That's two. _

"That actually makes sense, knowing Shinji." Toji said. "Wait! I know: she was ordered to seduce the young pilot of NERV in order to keep him under control!"

_And that's THREE! _

CRASH! BAM! POW! "Oh, god, don't hurt me!" BIFF! BOOM! SMACK! "My glasses!" WACK! POW! CRUNCH! "Don't pull on my leg!" KICK! BAM! WHAM! "Mother Help Me!!!!"

Asuka and Hikari just looked on in morbid fascination as Shinji, the timid Third Child, beat down the pair of stooges that many would have considered his friends.

Once finished, the boy retook his regular seat as if nothing had happened. Hikari had to pull another group of boys to carry the remains of Toji and Kensuke to the nurses office. Asuka kept a close watch on Shinji after that.

Kaworu on the other hand just watched with amusement.

_He protects his own, fights to defend their character. Being his enemy, will be most difficult. _

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Ritsuko's office...

"I don't believe it!" the blond scientist gasped. "God! It really is like a bad science-fiction movie."

"What is?" Misato asked as the purple haired woman stepped into the office with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Shinji and Maya's twins."

"What's so unusual about that?" she said, having heard from Shinji earlier on about Maya's change in fortune.

"The fact that there was little to go on before this came to light, and that Maya's early sonograms indicated that she only had one child."

"So... what? I'm confused! Where did this second child come from?"

"Well... this is only a theory, but the best I can figure... when Maya was affected by the violent feedback that Shinji suffered while battling the 16th Angel, it caused a type of feedback to resonate to her from him. You see, the subsequent eating of the Angels core in order to defeat it caused a, spasm if you will, in Unit 01. This overflow of newly input energy affected Unit 01, which was transferred to Shinji as his synch ratio was so high, which was in turn transferred to Maya and her child, which caused the still developing embryo to split in a decidedly equal way."

Misato looked at the blond scientist with great confusion and disbelief.

"YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT????!!!!!" she shouted at the woman, the volume of her shout knocking the scientist off her seat.

"Jeez, Misato!" Ritsuko groaned as she stood back up.

"That is the lamest, most ridiculous, most absurd, most asinine explanation you have ever given me! And I've heard a lot of things since Maya got pregnant!"

"Wow." Ritsuko gasped.

"What?"

"I didn't think you'd ever use words like asinine in a real conversation. Unless it came from the Jeff Foxworthy Redneck Dictionary."

"Huh? Who's what?"

Ritsuko groaned. "Never mind."

"But Ritz, come on! Maybe there's another more logical explanation. Like maybe the sonograms read Maya's stomach wrong. Maybe the film was a bad quality and the other kid was behind it's brother when the picture was taken."

Oooooooooooooh believe me, Misato, I wish it was that simple. The woman thought. "At any rate, I need to get on to that special project you suggested."

"Good girl, Ritsuko." Misato smiled.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Shinji stepped into the apartment and was met with a kiss from his intended wife.

"Hi, hon. Did you have a good day at school?" Maya asked as she kissed the boy on the lips.

"It was..." he paused for a second, remembering the beat down he had given Toji and Kensuke. "Invigorating." he smiled.

"Really?" she smiled.

Shinji just smiled as he went to prepare Maya's dinner. Even though it was mid-afternoon the young future-mother needed her meal of cabbage, fruit salad, pork ramen, and chocolate, which Shinji was happy to make for her.

While she ate, Shinji did his homework. Naturally Maya finished before Shinji did, which wasn't a big stretch of things really. It was an even bigger stretch when Maya yawned loudly.

"Go, take a nap, Maya. I'll clean things up." Shinji said as he came back into the kitchen.

"You're sure?" Maya asked, slightly tired.

"It's not a problem." he smiled.

Maya smiled and stood up, kissing his cheek before going to the bedroom.

Shinji smiled the whole time while washing the dishes. His mind focused on the future that lay before them. He had asked Maya to marry him. She said yes. Considering the unusual way she was having his child, it seemed only appropriate to ask her.

It might have seemed discourteous or even rude not to ask her to marry him. Problem was he still hadn't bought her a ring or anything like that.

But then again, Maya was only two months pregnant now, so there was no serious rush.

_Right. No serious rush. Seven months and I'm going to be the father of two!_ Shinji groaned as he finished scrubbing the wok.

Shinji finished the dishes and then finished his homework an hour later. Tired, he plopped himself down in front of the television and just turned it on.

He wasn't sure what program it was that he was watching when he drifted off to sleep, but he didn't care about that as a sudden scream woke him from his nap.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Maya shouted.

"MAYA!" Shinji shouted and bolted to the bedroom.

He nearly took the door off the hinges as he exploded into the room.

"Maya! What's wrong?" he gasped.

"Shinji! Oh, Shinji!" she cried with teary-eyes as her arms outstretched for the boy.

Quickly going to his girl, the boy sat on the side of the bed and held the woman tightly.

"Shh, shhh, shhhh!" he cooed in her ear as he held her. "It's alright! It's alright." he said calmly to her as he rubbed her back softly. "I'm right here."

"Oh, Shinji! I had the worst dream!" the woman cried as she clutched at him tightly.

"It's over now, Maya. It's over. I'm right here."

"It was about our... our children!" she stuttered.

"What?" he gasped, pulling back to look at her. "What's wrong?"

"I just... I saw these... things... like giant white birds, flying overhead. Circling like vultures. They flew down from the sky and snatched up our children. Our twins. They took them up into the sky..." she started crying heavily now and Shinji had to increase his soothing ministrations to calm her so that she could finish. "And I... I couldn't do anything... as they tore our children apart!"

Shinji's face was filled with horror, Maya's was white as a sheet as her tears continued to pour.

"It won't happen, Maya!" Shinji assured her. "I don't know what your dream means, but I promise you, I will never let anything happen to our children. No one will harm them, and nothing will come to take them from us! I promise you!" he stated firmly as he hugged the young woman tightly.

Maya's only comfort that night came from Shinji, the boy just holding the woman and stroking her hair gently to soothe her fears.

Shinji knew that the war wasn't yet over, and that he had to be strong, both all of them now.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Kaworu walked into the Eva cages and looked at the gigantic Red Eva.

"Hello, child of Adam." he said as he stared at the four-eyed biomechanical weapon. "It is time to begin."

"Yes. It is." a voice to the side startled him.

Kaworu looked to the side and saw the blue-haired girl Rei Ayanami in her school uniform.

"Hello, second version of the First Child." Kaworu said.

"I know what you are planning. And I cannot allow you to succeed." Rei said.

"You cannot stop me." he said with a sadistic smile. "Your AT-Field is too weak."

"By myself, I cannot stop you." she admitted.

"But we can!" a second Rei said.

Kaworu looked around the cage as multiple Rei Ayanami's, more than a dozen, appeared. Some of them were behind Rei, some of them stood upon Unit 02, and some were behind Kaworu himself. Aside from the first Rei, the others were all dressed in white and black plugsuits.

"But together... we are!" the group cried in unison as the entire group lunged at the gasping boy and laid into him with amazingly brutal strength and skill.

_Something's wrong! My AT-Field has been neutralized!_ He gasped as he felt their fists connect to his face, shoulders, back, chest, stomach, butt, legs and feet. He quickly realized what the problem was. These Rei-clones each had AT-Fields. It may have been weaker than his by far, but together they had managed to neutralize it and thus robbed him of his main advantage.

Several minutes later...

"What do we do with him?" one of the Rei-clones asked as four of the clones held the body before the second First Child.

He was hunched over and unconscious, his face sporting multiple bruises, and he was bleeding.

"Take him to Dr Akagi. She will know what to do with him."

"Yes, commander!" the clone said as the group carried the unconscious Angel to the labs.

Once they were gone, Rei looked at the red Eva for a few seconds and then walked off herself.

_Without the 17th Angel's death, SEELE cannot initiate the Third Impact with their nearly completed EVA-Series robots_. Rei thought. _Now... time is on our side. It is true what the commercials say: Having sisters to help you save the world: **great**! Being the future babysitter of Shinji-kun's twin children: **excellent**! Messing with SEELE's and the commander's scenario: **priceless**_

With those thoughts in mind, Rei Ayanami disappeared into NERV.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Author's Notes:

Here's my latest update of Unexpected Lives.

I hope no one thinks I'm being cold and angsty with this chapter. I wanted to do some serious drama in order to bring Shinji and Maya closer together. And considering their situation, I could thing of no better method than to give Maya a nightmare/premonition about her children and the future attack on the Geofront.

All in all, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and will give me good reviews and suggestions for the next one.


	7. Chapter 7

_**UNEXPECTED LIVES 7**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Obiki Doragon: Spike Spencer really married Kendra Benham? Nice.

Krow Blood: Well, what would you do if you were the 'current' clone? Basically Rei is at the front row of all these clones. She has more experiences and Eva-time than the others. This makes her more of an ARC trooper really.

Ryousanki: Yes, Rei can be funny, though she doesn't really consider it funny.

Dennisud: I'm planning to have some fun with Gendo and SEELE. As for Rei, she supposedly has hundreds of 'sisters', but at this point I'm only using about 2 dozen. I could upgrade this.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

It had been a month since the Fifth Child had mysteriously disappeared and no one know what had happened to him. The commander, the sub-commander, the bridge techs, no one.

Actually, one person did know, but she wasn't telling.

Ritsuko Akagi was diligently working on one of her secret projects and couldn't be bothered. Asuka Langley Sohryu never had a chance to meet the guy before he went missing, even though he showed up at school briefly. Misato Katsuragi had yet to meet the boy either. And Rei Ayanami just denied she had ever seen him at NERV.

As for Shinji Ikari... he had other priorities.

"Can I help you, young man?" The clerk asked as Shinji stepped into the jewelry store.

"Yes." he replied with a smile. "I'm looking for an engagement ring." he said.

"Engagement ring?" the clerk said in surprise, noting the boy's age.

"Yes. One that's... unique." Shinji explained as he looked at the glass case at what was available.

"How... unique, are we talking?" the clerk asked the boy.

"Some with two hearts, maybe." he said, then paused. "That one!"

The clerk looked down and saw what he was pointing at. He opened the case and brought out the ring and the box, a blue sapphire set in a gold band, the base around the sapphire itself carved out int the shape of two hearts interlocked.

"You have a good eye." The clerk said. "This piece is exquisite and affordable."

"Sounds good. What's the size range on it?"

"A ladies ring, average size from and 7 to a 9."

"Perfect. I'll take it."

"And... how will mister be paying for this ring?"

"Here." Shinji said, as he pulled his NERV ID. He had been told by Misato that it also doubled as his bank card.

The clerk looked at the card and did a double take. "You... you mean... you're Shinji Ikari?" the man gasped.

While Shinji tried to keep a low-key about his identity, there was no denying who he was, as his actions against the JetAlone robot and the Angels eventually had made the news.

"That's me." Shinji smiled.

The clerk quickly ran up the sale, not bothering to check the price of the ring or the fact that the card had passed the scanner without incident.

"Thanks. I'm sure she'll love it." Shinji said as he accepted the package.

"Uh... Mr Ikari."

"Yes?"

"Pardon me for saying so, but...aren't you a little young to be getting married?" he asked, hoping it not rude of him to ask such a personal question. But he knew that this type of ring was for one thing only.

"A little. But it's alright. She loves me and I love her. So, getting married is the only logical thing. Right?"

"Well... yes. But..."

"But what?"

"But... well... who is the lucky girl?"

Shinji just smiled. "Can't tell you that." he said cryptically. "All I can tell you is that she's smart, beautiful, and knows me like no other person in the world can."

With that the boy exited the store and headed home, leaving the rather stunned clerk in his wake.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Deep within the bowls of NERV, the faux-blond scientist, named Ritsuko Akagi diligently worked on her special project, surrounded by a dozen Rei-clones all dressed in white plugsuits.

"Soon, my pet, you will be ready." Ritsuko smiled as she drew her hand across the glass of the large cylinder.

Inside the glass tube, the naked and unconscious figure of Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child, and the Seventeenth Angel, just floated in the greenish liquid.

"I'm sure this is very unexpected to you. But then again... such is life." Ritsuko stated as she went over and adjusted the chemicals flowing into the tube. "You will be my elite warrior. My point man."

"And we will follow him." one of the clones asked.

"Yes. He will be your commander. SEELE will strike soon and we need to be ready when they do." Ritsuko stated. "How are the others doing?"

"Currently we have nearly one hundred and fifty of our sisters training in both marksmanship and hand-to-hand." a second clone said.

"It is fortunate that this facility is large enough to conceal our actions." a third clone said.

"Yes. Gendo purposely kept this place understaffed so that he could conduct his activities without any major interference." Ritsuko replied. "What about the Section 2 staff?"

"They have already been taken care of." a fourth clone said.

"We caught them off-guard and subdued all of them." the second clone said.

Ritsuko cocked an eyebrow. "How did you catch them off guard?" Ritsuko asked.

"We were naked." a fifth clone said.

Ritsuko smiled at that. "Good girls. You learn quickly how to use your assets to your advantage."

"Thank you, mistress!" the clones cried in unison.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The apartment of Shinji and Maya.

"Maya! I'm home!" Shinji called out.

"I'm in here, Shinji-kun!" the woman cried from the living room.

Shinji made his way to the living room where Maya was sitting on the couch just watching television and stroking her stomach softly.

Shinji smiled as he felt her thoughts.

"They're be fine, Maya-chan." Shinji smiled as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck. "Don't worry so much."

"I know, Shinji-kun." Maya sighed. "I just... these are my first children, and I... just want everything to go right. You know?"

"I know what you mean." he said as he kissed her softly. "Speaking of which, I've got something that will make you happier." he said as he held out the ring in front of her.

Maya gasped as she saw the ring. "Oh, Shinji!" she cried as she turned to face him.

Shinji moved around to front of the small couch and bent down on one knee before her.

"Maya Ibuki, will you marry me?" he asked as he presented the ring.

Granted there was more, a lot more, he could have said, but at this point in time they knew more about each other to the point that mere words were not enough.

Only the important words were necessary now.

"Yes, Shinji Ikari. I'll marry you." she smiled as Shinji slid the ring on her finger.

It fit perfectly on her.

Maya then grabbed the boy and pulled her to him, kissing him fiercely on the lips as tears continued to stream down her cheeks, touching his skin and running down his chin and neck.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

She nodded and smiled at the boy.

Shinji stepped into the kitchen and prepared something for his future wife. As it was a rather happy occasion, Shinji had stopped off at the store and gotten some extra groceries. Within less than a half hour he had prepared a small banquet for Maya.

The thing about pregnant women, Shinji had noticed, that it didn't matter what the dish looked like good or how much effort you had put into it. As long as it tasted good and there was plenty of it. However, Shinji knew that Maya appreciated everything that Shinji did for her.

"Is everything alright Maya?" he asked once she was done. "Did you want anything else?"

"Not really." she cried, wiping the tears away. "But I would like to sleep with my future husband. Just to enjoy your presence, your touch."

Shinji smiled as he got up from his side of the table and moved around to Maya, wiping the last of her happy tears from her face, then helping her up from the chair.

The pair retired to the bedroom and nestled down into the bed, Maya caressing Shinji's cheek as she kissed his lips tenderly. Shinji returned the kiss and snuggled down into their bed as Maya turned around so that Shinji could move up against her. Being behind her was far easier to be closer to the woman than being in front. Maya was on her right side, Shinji reached his left hand around and gently caressed her growing belly.

"I love you, Maya-chan." he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too, Shinji-kun." she whispered back.

Eventually sleep claimed them both, wrapped safely in each others arms.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

In a dark corner of the world, a secret meeting was taking place.

"Our scenario is behind schedule."

"Indeed. And there has been no reply from Ikari."

"The word is that he is still recovering from his injuries imposed upon him by the 14th Angel."

"And with our operative having served his purpose, we no longer have an insider to keep us well informed of our schedule."

"Then we have but one recourse."

"That would be premature, as we do not know the status of the Seventeenth Angel."

"We sent him to NERV."

"And as there has been no word from him or anyone else..."

"We must conclude that he is dead."

"Yet we have had no confirmation of this."

"We would be deviating from our own scenario."

"We have little choice. Make the calls."

"And so, the final battle has come down to this."

"The end game is at hand."

"And soon... mankind will be united."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Authors Notes:

The seventh chapter is finished. The eighth chapter will be about the JSSDF's attack on NERV and how the Eva crew handles and prepares things.

Get ready for the Rei-clones vs The JSSDF. And what part will Kaworu play in all this? What's his special task? And Shinji and Maya must fight harder to protect their children when Gendo tries to interrupt and control the final battle.

Not much to say, and not a lot of material for an omake, really.

So, just enjoy this cute little update, which was primarily a Shinji/Maya interaction.

And as always, please read this and review.


	8. Chapter 8

_**UNEXPECTED LIVES 8**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Summary: SEELE launches their attack on NERV and Shinji and the others unleash their full power to protect not only themselves but Shinji and Maya's child.

Author's Notes: It's been too long since I updated this story. I'm sure by now people have thought that I discontinued it. Hopefully, this proves everyone wrong. I've been so distracted by my other stories that I've barely had time, or a lot of interest, in updating this story.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(NERV headquarters)

"So... they're all here." Misato said as she looked at the screen, which showed the JSSDF starting to surround the rather empty city of Tokyo-3.

"Yeah. The tanks and helicopters are just hovering outside the city limits." Hyuga said.

"And it seems that a special infiltration squad has penetrated through the train station." Shigeru confirmed. "The guard is dead."

_Damn it. _"This is sooner than anticipated, but not totally unexpected now is it?" Misato asked.

"No. But they're gonna get a very unexpected surprise." Ritsuko said.

"Yeah. It was fortunate that you managed to get the sub-commander on our side." Misato mused as she watched the screens. "Without his inside information we wouldn't have been able to get our plans in place."

"I'm sure he would have helped us anyway." Ritsuko said with a grin. _I've been banging Gendo for months, so giving Fuyutsuki a blow job was easy. At least I enjoyed doing him._

"Is our surprise ready?" Misato asked.

"Yes, Misato." Ritsuko said. "The girls are all ready and our special surprise is actually anxious to get outside."

"What about Asuka?"

"She's also itching for a fight."

"Excellent." she smirked, rubbing her hands over and over like she was Mr Burns from Springfield.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

It had been 5 days since Shinji asked Maya to marry him.

The young computer tech hadn't had any more nightmares, not with her fiancée sleeping next to her each night.

But in that time, Misato and Ritsuko had grown suspicious of what SEELE might be planning once they found out that their operative/Angel had been defeated. They quickly went to see the sub-commander about this. Actually, it was Ritsuko who managed to 'convince' the sub-commander to help them, even though the aged man would have done so anyway.

Ritsuko was just feeling... restless.

Naturally, the man gave them the information, or more accurately what Gendo suspected they would do, and Misato quickly set up everything they would need.

It was out of her power that SEELE would used the JSSDF as their foot soldiers. The influence and money that SEELE had was beyond her scope. As was the deployment of the EVA-Series as an extreme last resort.

Still, with the possibility that they would attack, Misato was able to get Ritsuko's 'little project' well in position and ready for any possible attack.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Originally the clones of Rei in the 'Reiquarium' had possessed no souls, or life of their own. They were both black slates and empty husks.

Until Ritsuko managed to connect them to Rei, the second incarnation of the First Child, herself.

Since all the clones were connected to each other anyway, a little additional 'bonding' in the form of reverse-memory downloads from Rei to the clones caused a rather unique incident.

It caused the clones to wake up.

All of them.

With the second Rei as a source of knowledge, sort of a template of experience, the other clones accepted her as their progenitor and leader.

Following her orders much like the Clone Troopers followed the commands of the ARC Troopers from Star Wars, the first dozen clones were sent to capture Kaworu Nagisa, the 17th Angel. They had succeeded due to sheer numbers, and while the unconscious Kaworu was being reeducated by Ritsuko, the clones were sent to take down the last line of defense Gendo had in NERV.

Section 2.

Hired more for brawn than brains, the security staff was easy enough to deal with by the Rei clones, who ambushed them without benefit of clothing.

Once they were dealt with, Misato and Ritsuko put the clones to work training them in both hand-to-hand combat and marksmanship. The purpose: to defend NERV from SEELE's attack.

However, since there were more than a hundred Rei-clones, the pair had to find them clothes.

They were able to get the Materials Department to crank out several more plugsuits, though the department did wonder just who was going to wear them once made. However, since the order had come from the Sub-Commander, they didn't argue.

The numbers consisted of 50 white and black-striped plugsuits, 30 blue and white plugsuits, 40 red and white plugsuits, and 30 black and gray plugsuits.

Naturally, once dressed, the clones were divided up into four units.

White Group, Blue Group, Red Group, and Black Group.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(West Corridor of NERV)

"This is Team 6 in West Corridor. No sign of resistance. Continuing on." the leader of the seven-man military team said into his radio headset.

(Roger, Team 6) the radio transmission called back. (Continue on mission.)

The group continued down the hallway, seeing nothing and hearing nothing. Which was to their disadvantage when the 10 lithe and lively young women fell from the rafters and literally pounced upon them.

"What the hell!" the rear guard shouted as his legs were kicked out from under him.

"Get Them Off! Get Them Off!" the largest of the team shouted as three figures jumped onto his back, striking him in the neck to bring him down.

"They've disabled the communicators!" another soldier shouted as one of the girls pulled his radio off his helmet.

"Shoot Em! Shoot Em!" the leader shouter before he was blasted back by a strange orange and yellow energy field.

Within only a few seconds, JSSDF Team 6 was unconscious.

"This is Black Group 2 to Bridge. West Corridor cleared." one of the Rei's said through her communication earpiece.

(Good work Team 2.) Misato replied over the communicator. (Maintain position and tie up our guests. If they give you any trouble you are authorized to terminate. Remember, they're here to kill us, so be careful.)

"Understood, Major." the first Rei said as the other Rei's in the white plugsuits with the black stripes arranged and tied up the JSSDF soldiers.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(North Corridor of NERV)

"Kensho, see anything?" the JSSDF Team 7 leader asked.

"Negative." the flamethrower-armed pointman said. Suddenly, he froze as he saw a trio of NERV employees step around the corner. "Three NERV personnel sighted."

"Execute on sight!" the team leader said as he and his men hefted their guns up.

"Get ready to feel the burn, baby!" the pointman grinned as he lit his flamethrower.

"You First!" a sudden voice overhead said.

"Huh?" the pointman gasped as a red-gloved fist flew towards his face.

PUNCH!

"What the..." the team leader gasped as the panels in the walls opened up and ten identical girls with blue-hair dressed in red and white plugsuits shot out at them and attacked, striking them all down with in a matter of seconds.

Across the way, the trio of NERV workers just watched in confused fascination as ten girls who bore a strong resemblance to the First Child took down a seven-person team of JSSDF soldiers.

When they were all finished, one of the girls tapped her earpiece communicator.

"Red Group 3 to Bridge. JSSDF team subdued in North Corridor." the girl said.

(Good work, Group 3.) Misato's voice came back. (Maintain position until further notice.)

"Affirmative, Major." the girl said as her team tied up the JSSDF team.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(East Corridor of NERV)

"What is this? It's another empty room!" the leader of JSSDF Team 4 grumbled.

"Weird. You'd think we'd run into someone by now." the leader of JSSDF Team 5 replied.

"You mean..." a soft female voice exclaimed from nowhere.

"Like us?" a second, almost similar voice stated, also from nowhere.

The two teams looked around the large and empty room, which their maps had indicated was a construction bay for the Evas weapons, and saw nothing and no one.

"Who are you?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Where are you?" another soldier asked.

"Right..."

"HERE!"

Within seconds, more than two dozen blue-haired, red-eyed girls in a matching white and black-striped plugsuits emerged from behind dozens of pieces of machine parts and transport vehicles.

"What the..." one of the soldiers gasped.

"Okay, this is just creepy." another soldier stated.

"You Haven't Seen Creepy Yet!" the twenty-five girls replied in unison.

Momentarily spooked by this eerie harmony amongst the carbon-copy-chorus was enough to give the girls the advantage. Leaping and charging towards the two seven-person teams, the girls swarmed over them, bringing half of them down before the others opened fire.

"Open Fire!" the leader of Team 4 shouted.

The White Group clones focused their AT-Fields, deflecting the bullets enough to get within striking distance of soldiers.

"Stop Them! Stop Them!" one soldier shouted before he was blasted back by a low-yield energy field into one of the trucks.

"They're Everywhere!" another soldier shouted as two of the girls leaped into the air, striking him with their feet from opposite sides of his head.

"Look Out!" another soldier shouted as one of the girls kicked his gun out of his hands then spun around to deliver a roundhouse kick to his neck.

Within seconds, the two teams had been subdued by White Group 2.

"This is White Group 2 to Bridge. JSSDF Team's 4 and 5 neutralized."

(Good work, Group 2. Any casualties?) Misato replied.

"Two of our sisters were injured, but they will live." the girl said as the other Rei's used their AT-Field powers to heal their sisters gunshot wounds.

(Understood. Hold your positions until further notice.)

"Acknowledge, Major."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(South Corridor of NERV)

At virtually the same time, another team had been defeated by another group of Rei-clones wearing blue and white plugsuits.

"This is Blue Group 3, we have JSSDF Team 3 in custody." one of the Rei's said.

(Understood and congratulations, Group 3.) Misato said.

While the soldiers were being tied up, one of them turned to his buddy.

"Beaten by a bunch of little girls." the first soldier groaned as one of the Rei's finished tying him up with steel cable.

"Yeah. We're never gonna live this down." the second soldier stated.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Back in the NERV Command Center, Misato just smiled as their forces had secured and defeated the JSSDF infiltration teams. With no loss of life to contend with, the NERV team prepared for their next task.

"What's the situation?" Misato asked.

"All JSSDF teams have been subdued." Makoto said.

"Excellent. Of course, that only means one thing." the purple-haired woman said.

"They're going to drop their N2 Mines." Fuyutsuki stated.

Suddenly... WA-BOOM!

The entire bridge crew was launched from their seats and off their feet. Misato caught Maya before she hit the floor, cradling her and her unborn children. For several seconds the entire base shook and vibrated, only to stop as new light poured into the Geofront from up top.

"Well, that was a little much." Fuyutsuki groaned as he shook the dust out of his hair.

"We're completely exposed!" Shigeru shouted as he got back into his seat.

"Yeah, and if they drop another one we won't survive." Makoto said as he readjusted his glasses.

"They won't." Misato said, helping Maya back to her seat.

"Why not?" Makoto asked.

"Because they want the Evas." Ritsuko said, standing up.

"Then let's give it to them!" Misato grinned.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Eva 00 Launching!" Rei Ayanami shouted.

"Eva 01 Launching!" Shinji Ikari shouted.

"Eva 02 Launching!" Asuka Langley Sohryu shouted.

The trio of Evas launched towards the Geofront where they were to meet the invading JSSDF soldiers and their soon-to-be-deployed Mass Produced Evas.

They arrived right as nine large transport carriers soared over the now open hole that lead down to the exposed Geofront. From each of the transports, a large white object launched and dropped down. Once they were far enough away from the transports, they sprouted wings and began gliding down into the massive hole towards the three waiting original Evangelions. Circling like a pack of white vultures descending upon their intended prey.

"Do you see that, baka?" Asuka snapped at Shinji.

"Yes, Asuka. The Mass-Produced Evas that the sub-commander informed us about." Shinji replied.

"The odd are three-to-one against us, Ikari-kun." Rei said.

"Yeah. Maybe we should give them a chance to surrender?" Shinji grinned.

Asuka looked over to her fellow pilot and grinned. Shinji actually made a joke. That meant that he had definitely changed. And for a brief moment, she felt envious of Maya.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"The Magi is being hacked!" Shigeru suddenly shouted, his console lighting up wildly.

"We'll see about that!" Ritsuko grinned as she activated her specially-designed program, reversing the hacking flow from the other NERV Super Computers that were trying to infiltrate the Magi.

"Ritz?" Misato asked.

"Not to worry. I've got them!" Ritsuko grinned as she watched her program work.

"What did you do?" Makoto asked.

"I created a system of sub-routines that redirected their hacking flow into the Magi. Basically, they're hacking each others computer system now." she smiled.

"HA! Way to go, Ritz!" Misato grinned.

"And now, I think it's time to activate our latest surprise." Ritsuko said as she patched herself through to her special operative.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Outside the blown-open hole that lead down to the Geofront, the tanks, jeeps and helicopters of the JSSDF were anxiously waiting for their chance at some action.

Suddenly...

BOOM!

"What was that?" the commander of the ground forces asked as one of his tank units suddenly exploded.

(We've got an incoming!) one of the helicopter pilots shouted through his communicator.

"What is that?!" the commander asked.

(Unknown object has just taken out the Fifth Squad!) the tank leader suddenly shouted across the radio.

(Third Helicopter Unit Down!) Another communication came in.

"What is that thing?!" the commander shouted, staring through his binoculars and seeing only a flash of light attacking his men.

(It's... a boy!) One of the helicopter pilots shouted.

"WHAT?!" the commander gasped as the image of a glowing boy with white hair and red eyes flew towards him.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"He's doing pretty good." Misato said as she watched Kaworu flying through the air and taking down the JSSDF forces.

"He should be considering what I had to do to his mind." Ritsuko said.

"You say that so casually." the purple-haired woman said.

"Well, he is an Angel, Misato." the faux-blonde woman said.

"Uh-huh."

"Speaking of kids, how are our pilots doing?"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Come on, baka! Keep up!" Asuka shouted as she kicked MP Eva 05 down while holding MP Eva 06 in a headlock. "Don't want to disappoint the wife now do you?"

"As long as I come back alive that's all Maya cares about." Shinji said as he slammed his knife into MP Eva 07's head and turned to tackle MP Eva 08 in the stomach.

"Besides, Ikari-kun still has the highest Angel kill record." Rei said as she punched MP Eva 09 with her fist and turned to face MP Eva 10.

"Grrrrr!!" Asuka shouted as she lifted MP Eva 06 over her head and tossed it into MP Eva 11 and 12.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

While the battles were going on inside, outside and around NERV, the group had failed to realize that they had another problem to contend with.

Said problem was one Gendo Ikari, wheelchair bound and on his way towards Terminal Dogma. While one would have to question exactly what Gendo was trying to do heading for the captive Angel called Lilith in TD, his rather desperate plans were soon interrupted by a group of JSSDF soldiers rounding the corner and locating him.

"Hey! It's Commander Ikari!" one of the soldiers shouted.

"Great! We have orders to eliminate him too." another soldier shouted.

_It can't end like this! It can't!_ Gendo thought as the group of soldiers raised their guns at him.

Suddenly, right as the quartet of soldiers raised their gun, fingers on the triggers, a group of black-suited Rei-clones leapt out from behind them, sticking knife blades into their bodies.

"Rei... good. Now... help me... get to... Terminal Dogma..." the crippled commander hissed.

"I am sorry, Commander. We have different orders." one of the Rei's said, coming up behind him.

"What... are you... doing?" he asked as the Rei clone disabled his motorized controls and took to manually pushing the wheelchair down the hallway, flanked by the other Rei's.

"Taking you to see The Doctor." the Rei clone said.

"No..." he panicked.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The final score of the Evas vs The MP-Evas was Asuka 4, Rei 2 and Shinji 3.

However, that changed when the defeated MP-Evas suddenly regenerated and rose up to full power.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Asuka shouted.

"It seems we have a problem." Rei stated.

"Yeah. No kidding!" she snapped. "Those things are back up and ready for another round."

"That is not what I meant." the albino said.

"Then what did you mean?" the redhead asked.

Suddenly, the power from both Eva 00 and Eva 02 vanished, leaving both girls in their entry plugs.

"Oh. Damn!" Asuka grumbled.

The MP-Evas dismissed the now powerless Evangelions, easily knocking them over and grabbing Unit 01. Spreading their wings they hoisted the purple Eva into the air. Despite Shinji's still active power and ability to fight, he was powerless against all nine MP-Evas.

Misato and the others could only watch as Shinji and Unit 01 were lifted into the sky.

Maya started crying at seeing her future husband taken prisoner by the MP-Evas.

However, the instant that the nine MP-Evas had taken Unit 01 to a significant height, the purple Eva started to twitch and glow, as if it had been waiting for this moment.

The nine MP-Evas all saw this and swarmed over it, as if attempting to block it's power build up. However, it only served to be their undoing, as Unit 01's synch ratio rose to an exponential level of 400, exploding with raw AT-Field energy and completely destroying the MP-Evas.

The blast illuminated the entire sky, blinding virtually everyone who happened to look up. Within a few seconds it cleared, revealing the nine MP-Evas had all been destroyed, but as a result the lone Evangelion, without the ability to fly, dropped from the sky like a big purple stone.

"SHINJI-KUN!!" Maya shouted as Eva 01 fell right back into the opening hole.

(Relax Maya! We've got him!) Asuka shouted back through the communicator as both she and Rei threw up their AT-Field to catch the falling Shinji just as he entered the Geofront hole.

Once the MP-Evas had taken Unit 01 into the air, the emergency crews had arrived and managed to reconnect the power cables to Unit 00 and Unit 02. Fully charged up, the two Eva's were now able to cushion Unit 01's fall back to Earth.

"Asuka! Rei! What's Shinji's status?" Misato shouted once they had caught the purple Evangelion.

(Don't know!) Asuka called back. (He's not responding to us!)

"Patching in the Eva's video camera to the monitors!" Makoto shouted.

"Is Shinji-kun alright?" Maya asked, still crying and unable to look at the screens.

"Yes. He is." Ritsuko said with a pale look.

"Then why do you look scared?" Misato asked.

"Uh... I think you should see this, Misato." she said.

Misato came over and looked at the screen.

"Oh... My... God!" she gasped at what she saw.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Author's Notes:

Here is the 8th Chapter in my long-running 'Unexpected Lives' story. And I am happy to say that I finally got around to finishing it.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this and that it lived up to everyone's expectations. Leave me a review of what you think before moving on to the last chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

_**UNEXPECTED LIVES 9**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: This is the final chapter in this story. I can't believe it took me this long to finish this story. Sorry to all of my readers who have been waiting for me to update this story. I thought I'd never get this story finished, what with all my other stories in the works and such.

Anyway, here it is, the last chapter of Unexpected Lives.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Shinji Ikari sighed as the sunlight danced upon his face, the wind whistling through his hair as he just laid back on the blanket.

He felt the air in his lungs suddenly leave him as a pair of energetic youths jumped on his stomach.

"OOMFF!!" he gasped suddenly.

"Daddy, daddy!" the girl shouted.

"Oh! What's wrong Sakura?" he asked the girl.

"Come play with us!" the brown-haired, blue-eyed girl cried.

"Oh, but I was taking a nap." Shinji groaned.

"Please, daddy!" the boy shouted.

"Can't Auntie Misato and Auntie Asuka play with you, Masaki?" he asked the boy.

"Forget it, baka." the redhead groaned as she approached him. "They wore us out, it's your turn!"

"Yeah, Shinji-kun. Besides, they're you're kids." the purple-haired woman said.

"Lazy as ever I see." Shinji groaned as he felt a pair of lips on his forehead.

"Come on, Shinji-kun. It's your turn." Maya said sweetly as she stroked her husband's hair.

"Outnumbered on all fronts. It's just not fair." he said with a smile and got up from his wife's lap, his two children pulling on his hands away from the blanket and the tree the group was sitting under.

While the three women watched Shinji play with his children, they couldn't help but smile.

"Something wrong, Asuka?" Misato asked.

"I still can't believe it's been five years." the redhead said.

"I know what you mean." Misato sighed. "Everything we've been through since Second Impact I can't believe we're here now, just laughing and playing with Shinji's children."

"That's another thing I can't believe. The baka's got kids!"

"Careful, Asuka-chan! His wife is right there." she teased.

"And his mother is right here!" a voice suddenly spoke from behind.

"AH!" Asuka jumped.

"Yui! You made it!" Maya chimed happily.

"I'm sorry I'm late. My lecture ran long." Yui Ikari said as sat down next to Maya.

"That's the problem with being the President of Tokyo-2 University, you have to go to every single meeting and lecture and ceremony around." Misato said.

"Hope I haven't missed anything important."

"Nah, but Shinji being lazy again." Asuka said.

"After everything he's been through, he deserves a break every once in a while." Misato said.

"Did Sempai come with you?" Maya asked.

"No." Yui said. "She's busy with Gendo."

"I can't believe you gave up your husband to Ritz." Misato said.

"After everything Gendo did, I don't consider him to be my husband." Yui stated.

"And what with the brain-washing that Ritsuko did to him, he doesn't even remember." Asuka smirked.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Confused a little? Allow me to explain.

When Unit 01 had exploded it's AT-Field to destroy the Eva-Series, it had also freed Yui Ikari from it's core, reforming her body inside the entry plug where Shinji was. When the internal camera came back on, it showed a naked and young-looking Yui Ikari sitting in her son's lap inside the plug. It was a good thing that both of them were unconscious, as Shinji would have freaked out from seeing his naked mother sitting in his lap.

Once Yui had woken up, she told Misato and the others everything that she knew, and everything that she had experienced inside of the Eva. She also explained that it was her fault that Maya got pregnant with Shinji's child. Having the pair trapped inside the Eva for a whole month, Yui got to know both of them quite intimately, and reasoned that Maya was the perfect choice for her new daughter-in-law.

Even though she had been pulled into the entry plug along with Shinji during the 14th Angel battle, Yui figured that Maya was a far better choice than Misato, or Asuka, or Ritsuko, or even Rei (the whole clone-thing made her rather upset at Gendo, though she didn't think the girl was bad she wasn't really accepting of her as her future daughter-in-law) Even if her opinion was rather biased since Maya was the only person she could get to know better than the others.

Yui and Maya actually got along very well, the older woman glad that Maya loved her son enough to want to have his children. Shinji and Maya never got upset at Yui for what she had done, seeing as how they were happier as a result of it.

Everything in NERV had been cleared up by the time Shinji and Maya's children were born, the NERV group cleared of all of SEELE's trumped up charges and given generous pensions for their service during the Angel Wars. This left the pair all the time in the world to give to their kids. There were naturally a few rough and tiring moments, but the pair were fortunate to have Grandma Yui, Godmother Misato and Auntie Asuka there to help. Auntie Rei and her sisters were also there to help, though the clones mostly stayed within the Geofront, keeping it well-maintained in the event of any future need for it.

Though whenever the children found PenPen they squeezed the stuffings out of him. The warm-water penguin took to avoiding the children out of fear of being fondled like a stuffed toy.

After the scandal of both Gendo and SEELE's attempt to trigger Third Impact was over, and the UN launching a full investigation to arrest the secret society once the Magi were able to locate them, the group had settled into more peaceful lives.

Shinji became a co-owner/cook in a restaurant along with Hikari Horaki while still receiving a government pension for his service to NERV.

Maya started working for a computer support and repair company called Geek Squad. While she did get teased a little for being a 'geek' she was able to make all ends meet by only working half a week.

Yui got a job teaching at Tokyo-2 University, which eventually lead to her becoming President of the University.

Misato was living off her government pension for her service during the Angel Wars and was enjoying her early retirement.

Asuka was the same way, though she had written a couple books about her life, which many took to being fictional stories. Though she was upset at this, the money she got from the sales made her hold her tongue.

Rei had changed from an emotionless doll to a very loving and social person. She had actually got a job as the new Director of the Geofront, managing it for the UN while the Rei-clones took care of the base. (This also included Kaworu who was 'kept on ice' for future use)

Ritsuko, for her part in Gendo's plot, but also for her part in preventing Third Impact, was placed under part-time house arrest. (Half the week she could leave the Geofront, half the week she had to stay in the Geofront) She was given access to various resources to continue her work on cellular regeneration, as well as computer work, which had netted her several lucrative medical contracts, and was allowed to keep Gendo as a pet and personal servant/sex toy.

Sakura and Masaki, now four years old, were two bundles of mischief and energy that everyone loved wholeheartedly. Sakura looked more like her father Shinji, while Masaki looked more like his mother Maya. (Hence the S-name for the girl and M-name for the boy)

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Maya just looked down at her husband playing with her children and couldn't help but smile. Her life was truly unexpected, but she wouldn't have traded any of it, the good or the bad, for anything in the world.

"Maya?" Yui suddenly asked.

"Yes?" Maya replied.

"You have told him, haven't you?" she asked, looking at her son.

"I don't have to. Shinji and I know what the other is thinking. He's known for a while." she smiled.

"Told him? Told him what?" Misato asked.

Maya just smiled as Yui pointed to the younger woman's stomach.

Misato's and Asuka's jaw dropped wide open.

"You mean..." Asuka started to ask.

"Maya's is..." Misato started to say.

"Yes. And this time, by actually having sex." Yui said, causing the younger woman to blush.

"That's wonderful!" Misato gushed.

"Congratulations!" Asuka said.

"Thank you." Maya beamed.

"So, Maya?" Misato asked.

"Yes?"

"Be honest." Misato said with a catty grin. "How was he?"

Maya smiled back at the woman. "He was better than Kaji."

"WHAT?!" Misato and Asuka shouted in shock.

"Oh boy." Yui groaned, knowing where this was going.

"HOW THE HELL COULD YOU KNOW THAT?" Misato gasped.

"YOU SLEPT WITH KAJI?!" Asuka shouted.

"No." Maya said simply, a huge smile on her face.

"Huh?" the pair replied in unison.

"But you said..." Asuka started to say.

"I said Shinji was better than Kaji. Since I never slept with Kaji I can honestly say that Shinji is better." she smirked.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRR!! LET ME AT HER! I'M GONNA KILL HER!!" Asuka shouted as he lunged for the woman.

"Absolutely Not! That's My Grandchild In There!" Yui shouted, having intercepted and was now grappling with the redhead.

"Wait a minute... so how did Yui know?" Misato asked Maya while the other pair wrestled.

"Yui was the one who connected Shinji-kun and me to each other. That also means she knows what we're thinking and feeling. But only when she's close to us, which is a good thing whenever we get... romantic." she said with a blush.

Misato just smiled, though feeling a little jealous of the younger woman, and for obvious reasons.

From his place down near the lake, Shinji looked up and smiled at his family.

His wife Maya, who loved him with all her heart.

His mother Yui, who was back in his life.

His guardian Misato, godmother to his children.

His sister Asuka, who was as fiery as the day they had met.

And Rei, who had become like his other sister and the person he knew she could be.

Turning back to his children, Shinji just smiled at seeing how they completed the picture. Though it was a picture that would change soon, another addition soon to be included.

While Shinji could honestly say that it was unexpected, he welcomed it like every other good thing in his life. And to be honest, these were the only good things in his life.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Authors Notes:

Well, here it is! The epilogue to this long-awaited tale of Shinji and Maya. I honestly never thought I'd get this story done. But... here it is. Hope everyone likes it.

Not much I can say about this chapter, except I'm glad I finally got around to finishing it. Leave me good reviews as usual.


End file.
